It was yet another colourful event in Kapchorwa district this morning when the Accessible and Inclusive schools for Children with Disabilities Project was being launched. Noah’s Ark Hotel in Kapchorwa district was the venue for the event as the Secretary for Gender and Social Services, Evelyn Chebet, launched the project on behalf of the district LC5 Chairman. She said that the district is working towards increasing enrolment of children in schools and will ensure that children with disabilities (CWDs) are targeted, as education is a key to success. The ceremony was witnessed by area members of Parliament, district’s political leaders, technical persons and members of the media fraternity in Uganda.

Before the launch, participants were inducted into the project and highlight about physical disabilities, with emphasis on how to prevent people from becoming disabled. The purpose of the activity was to officially launch the project and seek support for the project from key stakeholders.

The District Community Development Officer, District Engineer, District Education Officer, District Executive Committee of Kapchorwa District Association of People with Physical Disabilities, Children with Disabilities, their parents, Chairperson Kapchorwa District Union of PWDs, Chairman District Council for Disability, councilors for PWDs, also witnessed the launch. Prior to the launch, courtesy visits were made to the relevant local government officers who will play a great role in the implementation of this project together with Uganda National Action on Physical Disability, including the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). Many officers were given a copy of Accessibility Standards, and pledged to use the Standards to ensure that new constructions take into account the accessibility needs of PWDs.

The CAO pledged to ensure that school furniture such as desks and toilets that are soon going to be made using the School Facilities Grant are accessible. He also added that the district is about to construct community facilities such as schools, toilets and classrooms using NUSAF 2 funds, and promised to make these accessible to Children with disabilities. The participants were excited with the project that seeks to ensure that Children with disabilities access education as a key to their success and pledged to support the project to realise its goal. It was noted that the vision of Kapchorwa education department is “access to equitable, qualitative and relevant education including CWDs”, a manifestation that Children with disabilities are highly targeted.

The District Education Department has officials trained in special needs education. The District Inspector of Schools specialized in sign language while the Senior Education Officer specialized in mental retardation. This is an opportunity for the project to benefit from these officers. The chairman of Kapchorwa Association for People with Physical Disabilities, Labu Arap Labu, appreciated the project and called upon all stakeholders and officials in the line department to supplement the project. Many people in attendance appreciated the CAO for his commitment to support the project.