HI has been promoting access to school for children with disabilities since 2004 and is developing projects in 31 countries in Latin America, West, Central, North and East Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
26
countries of intervention in 2021
72 HEURES
notre temps de réponse
opérationnelle
306,890
beneficiaries in 2021
Inclusive education, offering hope to children with disabilities
Children with disabilities are ten times less likely to attend school than other children. This exclusion limits their opportunities to acquire the skills they need to develop their full potential and to become active in their communities. It deprives them of their civic, political and economic rights. Good quality Inclusive Education generates real hope for the future for many children. It also plays a vital role within the society at large, in tackling widespread stigma against disabled people.
Our work to improve the enrolment of disabled children in schools focuses on:
- Supporting the education of children with disabilities in mainstream schools
- Providing personalised support and assistance to the families
- Developing teaching techniques and methods to be inclusive and adapted to disabled children
- Adapting teaching and learning materials
- Developing referral systems for assistive devices and the accessibility of schools
- Supporting disabled people’s organizations to advocate for the right to inclusive education
- Providing technical assistance to develop inclusive education policies at the national level.
Innovation to boost inclusive actions
We rely on innovative working methods and technologies to conduct remote studies, adapt and improve teaching and learning techniques.
This also involves using voice output devices for non-verbal children, or screen magnification for people with visual impairment.
New professions are also developed such as specialist mobile teachers who can fill the gap in a Ministry of Education's system by ensuring that children and their teachers in remote regions have access to specialist knowledge, to allow them to attend their local schools.
The depiction and use of boundaries, geographic names and related data shown on this map are not warranted to be error free nor do they necessarily imply official endorsement or acceptance by HI.
In Rwanda, 12-year-old Gilbert who has a physical disability caused by polio. He started school when he was 11 years old, in Ecole Ste Agnes, in Rutsiro District. HI staff identified him as an out of school child and referred him to be fitted for an appropriate wheelchair. They also worked with his family, community, peers and teachers to break down the negative stigma associated with his disability, improved the accessibility of the schools by creating ramps, accessible toilets, classrooms, desks and level pathways, developed a peer support system, and are training teachers to use a range of teaching techniques to accelerate learning for children who are late starters. Gilbert loves coming to the front of the class to share what he knows and be an active member of the class!
For more information about our projects and our approach to inclusive education
Julia MC GEOWN
Global Inclusive Education specialist
Photos : © R. Binard / HI - © J. Mc Geown / HI
