Disability is not Inability

::SAFARICOM FOUNDATION builds a girls dormitory for St. Luke's for the Deaf

The Right to Education is a fundamental human right. It occupies a central place in Human Rights and is essential and indispensable for the exercise of all other human rights and for development. "As an empowerment right, education is the primary vehicle by which economically and socially marginalized adults and children can lift themselves out of poverty, and obtain the means to participate fully in their communities. Individuals can exercise none of the civil, political, economic, and social rights unless they have received a certain minimum education.

But in spite of all the commitments made by Kenyan Government under international instruments for providing education for all, especially free and compulsory quality basic education, millions of children still remain deprived of educational opportunities, many of them on account of poverty and physical challenge. Achieving the right to basic education for all is thus one of the biggest moral challenges of our times especially to the deaf for lack of expertise.

Due to the rise of demand and the expense of educating children, Kenya introduced free primary education in 2003. St. Lukes’ School for the Deaf was started in 1990 and as a special boarding school; it caters for the special hearing needs of children between 4 and 16 years. It is located 8 km from Embu town in the Eastern Province.
Currently the school has enrolled 35 pupils with 10 streams ranging from nursery to standard 8. Recently, the educational assessment centres in both Mbeere and Embu districts allocated over 80 special need students to the school but unfortunately the school could not accommodate them due to lack of physical facilities.

Disability is not inability. No matter how physically challenged the children are, they are entitled to enjoy an environment that has all educational and social facilities like other children. The school utilizes the 8-4-4-education system of education. The first attempt into the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) was in1999 but the first lot joined High School in 2002 and another lot to vocational schools in 2003.

So far the special school has been successful in pursuing their goals by protecting the welfare of children with hearing impairment. They assist them to develop constructive and adaptive attitude to life on moral and religious values and their responsibilities towards the community and nation. Also, the children have developed meaningful experience through total communication philosophy, which leads to enjoyable and successful learning; as a result they develop and acquire special skills for easy communication. This finally encourages them to develop their self-expression, discipline, reliance and utilization of their remaining senses instead of having self-pity on themselves due to their hearing challenge.

There is no small achievement and despite the success the school has had, it lacks enough dormitories to cater for and accommodate pupils from far away to board. The classrooms in use were initially staff houses. Because of the growing number of the pupils the classrooms are currently overcrowded thus there is an urgent need for more classes.

The community has been very considerate and has often assisted in purchasing food for the welfare of the children. The Safaricom Foundation recently donated funds to construct a girls’ dormitory that will go a long way in helping the many girls catered for by the School.

SAFARICOM FOUNDATION:

Category: Community policy

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