The Unseen

Simon Daffi Kirway, one of the Project Officers at CASEC (an African Initiatives’ partner in Tanzania) came over to the UK for nearly 3 months earlier this year on a Commonwealth Professional Fellowship. One of the biggest things he took away from that experience was the UK approach to inclusive education. When he returned home to Tanzania he decided to do his own research into the situation of children with disabilities in schools in Mbulu and Kilolo districts. He has just sent us a report outlining his findings. 

For Simon, these children are the “unseen”, hidden in the community by their parents because of common misconceptions, including that these disabilities are a “curse”. “They are not given medical care when they’re sick, let alone being enrolled in school” Simon reports, “their mothers struggle to help them, regardless of what other people’s beliefs are, but it’s hard.” 

There are not only barriers to education from their communities. In Tanzania there is one teacher training institution for special needs teachers, Patandi. Each year between 378-400 teachers graduate. They have to be spread across 25 regions of Tanzania and Zanzibar and are not even always posted to teach in schools which provide inclusive education. Demand for these teachers is always very high. In Mbulu district only 2 schools out of 140 had ‘inclusive classrooms’. There was no provision for assistant teachers or community volunteers. This means that when teachers are ill and cannot teach the children cannot go to school. In Dongobesh Chini Primary School the inclusive classroom was temporarily closed in December 2011 because the teacher was sick. For 5 months. 

Teachers report budget constraints. Children with learning difficulties are not funded: although a government programme requires the central government to pay 25,000Tsh per child the schools have yet to see it. They say that they do not have resources to work with, one District Education Officer said “Why should you bother with children who are impaired, while as a district we have not been able to respond effectively to the needs of those who are okay?” Some parents even see teachers as an opportunity for respite care, for relief from the burden of responsibility that lies on them. One teacher stated, “In my town here community members openly referred to these children as my own children. They believe that I’m responsible for teaching them, meeting their medical care, food and clothing costs.”

Change is beginning however. At Endigot Primary School a local councillor mobilised communities to construct toilets suitable for children with learning difficulties using government funding proving. This proves that change can be driven by the community. Policy too is moving forward; it is now a government requirement that all government secondary schools should be adapted to become more user friendly by 2014. 

Now CASEC, too, are looking for ways in which they as a community grassroots organisation can build the capacity of schools and their communities to educate children with disabilities. Something African Initiatives is committed to working with them on. Together we can lift the curtain on ‘the unseen’.

Changing the World one MP at a Time

For a small organisation such as African Initiatives it is hard to have the impact we would like on policy change, particularly when the policies which need changing are on the other side of the world. In fact we learn a lot from our partners in Africa, especially CASEC, on the ways in which they influence change and their ‘softly, softly’ approach of building relationships over time and then making requests of their change makers. When we find a member of parliament who listens to the issues we are shouting about it is something to celebrate.

Recently, our CEO heard that her local MP in Wells, Tessa Munt had a keen interest in Africa and East African history in particular. When Rosie met her she was able to talk frankly, and face to face about the difficulties faced by Tanzanian pastoralists who are fighting for their land and those daughters who are fighting to go to school. This means a direct link into parliament; one more MP who knows what is happening and who can help to direct the British government’s reaction to these injustices. Ms. Munt talked to Rosie about the potential for African Initiatives to benefit future generations of young Africans with the programmes we and our partners are running. To gain the interest and support of a local MP with an existing understanding of Africa will be vital for African Initiatives as, with our partners, we continue to fight for justice and equality.

To see more on Rosie’s meeting with Tessa please click here