They allegedly justified their denial of entry of the child in their schools as follows: Fellow pupils might beat the child to which mother could blame the school; Fellow pupils could tease the child as she looks terrifying. To date Pauline has not yet been admitted to any school. There is one school which promised to admit Pauline in the first term of 2012, on condition that she first be operated on and look better.

Pauline had her first operation at CoRSU Rehabilitation Hospital, Kisubi in May 2011. Her second operation is scheduled for May 2012, yet the schools begin in February. This means all this time, Pauline will be home while watching other children go to school! Pauline has no other health problem to prohibit her from enrolling into school. These schools which rejected Pauline, advised her mother to try other schools in Makindye and Kabalagala, but these are far away from where the child stays in Nsambya. What happened to Pauline is unfortunate. Such is the plight of children with disability. Shame be on the head teachers of these four schools and to all those who

would do the same if they are approached.

What they did shows clear discrimination of children with disability and violation of their basic rights. If this happened in Kampala where such school heads are expected to be at least more informed and enlighten, what if it were in rural schools? Children with disabilities are also children like others, with full rights especially the right to education or to be admitted in school, no matter how they look. We should respect diversity in humanity. What if such a child belonged to you or to one of these head teachers? Statistics indicate that there are over 500,000 children with disability in Uganda. The most commonly observed disabilities are loss and limited use of limbs, spine injuries, hearing difficulties, seeing difficulties, difficulty in speech and conveying messages, mental retardation, and mental illness, among others. It is observed and reported that despite efforts put in place by Government and other actors, children with disability are still treated with low priority in society. Consequently, this discrimination and neglect further erodes these children’s self-esteem and confidence to the extent that they cannot voice their needs and freely socialize with others. In 2010, Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services Uganda (CoRSU) CBR program carried out a disability mapping exercise in Katabi Sub-county, Wakiso District. Findings revealed that among the many difficulties faced by children with disabilities (CWDs) and other vulnerable children is the right to health, food, love, education, play and parental care.

Some sections of the community feel that spending resources on disabled children is “useless and deserve no attention because they are regarded as non-productive”. In the same exercise, during the consultative meetings held with the councilors, community development officers, parents and the sub-county chief of Kasanje, it was noted that attitude towards CWDs is

very negative and as a result, such children are often denied basics of life like healthcare, education and protection. This therefore shows that rights of these children are neither respected nor protected. Children are innocent; whether they look normal or different (abnormal), they are

human beings. They should not be discriminated against. All members of society should strive to protect them from discrimination. Disabled People’s Organizations and Government should scale up efforts to educate the masses about disability and basic child rights in Uganda.

By Hamad Lubwama

The post Head teachers refuse to admit pupil over disability first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

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.

The post Noah’s Ark Hotel hosts launch of Schools for Children with Disabilities first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

While launching the project in Masaka today, the District LC5 Vice Chairman, Hajji Jamil Miwanda, said the project will support the district to mobilise children with disabilities  to go to schools, change the negative attitude of people towards Children with Disabilities and also promote accessibility to school facilities.

He called on parents of Children with Disabilities not to neglect and under estimate the potential of their children in regard to succeeding in education. The launching ceremony that took place at Maria Flo Hotel was witnessed by Kampala district technical staff, PWDs councilors and the media in Uganda.

The purpose of the activity was to officially launch the project and seek support for the project from key stakeholders. Before the launch, the participants were oriented into physical disability and also inducted into the project. The participants were concerned that the number of persons with disabilities is increasing yet the country is developing.

They asked the Government to design and implement several interventions to prevent disability. Prior to the launch, courtesy visits were made to key local government staff that will be crucial in the implementation of this project, including the Chief Administrative Officer. The CAO appreciated the project and was given a copy of Accessibility Standards. He was asked to use it to enforce construction of the buildings in the district following the guidelines laid out in the Standards. Participants were excited about the project aiming at ensuring that CWDs access education.

The post Buganda kingdom Accessible Schools’ project launched first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.