l
 The Project
In the 2008/9 Rotary year, under the leadership of Ian Thompson, Rotary International in Britain & Ireland (RIBI). and Leonard Cheshire Disability came together to develop a project to overcome the barriers that exist at present in Africa where 90% of disabled children do not go to school. The aim of the project was to enable every child to go to school. The proposed programme with the support of Rotary set out to:
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Target 1,000 disabled children to attend school across Mukono and Pallisa in Uganda
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Train 80 teachers on inclusive education and how to teach disabled children
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Adapt 20 schools to make them more accessible for disabled children
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Involve 2,000 children in inclusive education clubs to spread the work about education for disabled children
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Establish a Disability Resource Centre to provide specialist support to schools and families
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To set up community based rehabilitation to train 500 parents/carers of disabled children in basic physical therapy
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Launch a community awareness raising and sensitisation programme
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Provide safe and clean drinking water and sanitary provision for disabled girls
Progress to date at Namirembe (April 2010).
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- The latrine has been completely finished.
- Verandas have been widened.
- Walkways have been levelled.
- Ramps have been constructed up to the classroom blocks.
- 28 disabled children were enrolled in the school in February.
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The New Latrine Black at Namirebe School. |
 The project is being implemented in a four-way partnership between Leonard Cheshire, National Council of Leonard Cheshire Services in Uganda, and the Ministry of Education and Sports (through Kyambogo University) and the community. The Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) is supervising and monitoring the work in the schools and is also making contributions in the form of advice, making teachers available for training and keeping other required records. The supervision and monitoring is being performed both by the MoES inspectorate and administration. Kyambogo University is providing the technical training and supervision of the teachers in the programme.
Go to
www.lcdisability.org/school4allinafrica for more information and to download an interactive PDF.
 Progress to Date
In the 2008/9 year, clubs in R.I.B.I. raised £130,000 for the project and 1070 have raised £13,829-46! That means we have raised 10% of the total R.I.B.I. donations in this district. Well done 1070 and thank you very much for all your efforts! 1070’s nominated school is the Namirembe School in the Pallisa region of Uganda and I have received news from Helen White, Rotary Liaison at LCDisability, that work has already begun at our school to make the adaptations necessary to admit disabled students. Four teachers and six community leaders have also been trained in Inclusive Education and Disability Awareness. An Inclusive Education Committee has been formed to include not only teaching staff but also community and parent representatives.
We look forward to hearing further news and receiving photographs from Helen as the work progresses.
Lesley Hammond
www.lcdisability.org
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