Empower 35 students with disability in Tanzania

EMPOWER 30 STUDENTS WITH DISABILITY IN TANZANIA, REPORT NUMBER 8: MAIN ACTIVITIES, ACHIEVEMENTS AND OVERALL PROGRESS OF STEP BY STEP LEARNING CENTRE, SSLC, MAY - AUGUST 2022.

  INTRODUCTION: This report will summarise the main activities, achievements and overall progress from May to August  2022 vis a vis our vision, mission, goals and activities. Despite the slow recovery from the negative effects of covid, compounded by inflation caused by the rise in fuel price because of the Ukraine war, SSLC has survived and is pressing on. 

MISSION STATEMENT

SSLC’s mission is to promote the physical, intellectual, psychological and social development of each child through a holistic educational provision in an inclusive, empathetic, respectful, positive and stimulating environment so that special needs students and their families feel safe, accepted and loved. Staff use child-centered training and learning methods to encourage all children, including those having severe disabilities, to reach their maximum potential.

 VISION STATEMENT

SSLC aims to grow its capacity to provide a safe and stimulating learning and working environment for mentally and severely physically challenged students for as long as they need such support to progressively improve and learn appropriate Life and Employment skills in order to achieve a degree of independence and dignity.

 MAIN GOALS

1. Twenty young students (age 6 to 17) with mental and physical challenges will access appropriate education, life skills training and appropriate therapy.
2. Twelve young adults (over 18) with mental and physical challenges will get training in Job skills and thereafter employment, income, self-esteem, confidence and emotional empowerment.
3. Six Income Generating Projects (IGPs) will receive enough input to become viable and self-sustainable.
4. Fourteen Staff will receive support to provide compassionate, high quality holistic teaching, training and therapy to SSLC students.

 MAIN ACTIVITIES

1. Drawing an Individual Learning Program (ILP) for each student with input from his/her parents or guardians, then setting goals for each student
2. Conducting one on one, Hand over hand, Experiential - hands on teaching and training the young students in basic functional literacy and life skills
3. Providing professional therapies (Physiotherapy, Reflexology, Occupational Therapy and Speech Training plus Music, Dance, Art and Crafts.
4. Training and mentoring young adults on the job in the Income Generating Projects (IGPs): jewelry making from beads; Tailoring, gardening and Livestock keeping of cows, sheep, chicken, fish and bees.
5. Expanding the IGPs and professionalizing the job skills to make the projects financially viable and sustainable.
6. Providing administrative and support services to the program.
7. Collaborating with parents, community leaders and other similar programs in order to advocate for the rights of the disabled and sell the SSLC model.
8. Participating in advocacy activities like Autism, Down Syndrome and Disabilility International days
9. Raising funds from various sources to keep SSLC running

STAKEHOLDERS: This period, our numbers of stakeholders stayed the same at a total of 222 project participants and beneficiaries (115 females and 107 males). These were students, staff, parents/guardians/caretakers and their families.

 JUNIOR CORE PROGRAM (AGES 3 TO 17)

All the 20 students from semester one stayed in the program during this period: 8 with autism, 9 cerebral palsy, 2 Downs Syndrome and 1 Slow Learner. Attendance for most of the students remained very good. Over 80% of the students were able to attend school 80% and above of the time. 80% and above of the students met the goals set in their Individual Learning Programs (ILPs). 

One heart warming story is that of little William who was enrolled in the first semester. With an absent father and a disabled mother, he had dropped out of a government special unit and was generally at large, roaming around in the village. He was extremely hyperactive with very little attention and concentration. He was also malnourished and with very poor personal hygiene. After just one semester, his Individual learnng programe (ILP) now reads differently. He has made progress in all areas. He enjoys school and helping Sharon around! One day the school bus left him and the was reported to have shed tears. His health, especially skin,and hygiene have improved. School and a positive, safe, loving learning environment is crucial for these kids.

 HOME BASED PROGRAM (HBP)

The HBP continued to serve 4 young students who could not attend school due to long distance, difficult family circumstances and severe physical challenges. Teachers continued to make home visits on Fridays to give them a full day focus . These students and their parents/guardians/caretakers participated in a very good workshop in August and received proffesional assessment and intensive physiotherapy. Our long term partner, a certified Physical Therapist  and third year university students from Stonny Brook University conducted the workshop. SSLC staff and the caregivers gained the skills to be able to give these students and our other physically challenged students, the much needed daily exercises.

 ADULT PROGRAM (AGES 18 AND ABOVE)

During thie period, one young adult student dropped out due to bad peer influence and lack of parental guidance and control. So we had 12 students: 4 autistic, 1 cerebral palsy,3 Down’s syndrome, 2 slow learners, 1 albinism and 1 Pfeiffer’s type I syndrome. Theyall enjoy workingin the IGPs and have made good progress in learning job/employment skills. They were able to raise good income from sales of their products especially jewelry, shopping bags, pawpaws and milk. There was a big snag though with the chicken project. The price of chicks shot up and then they became scarce to find. The imported ones were too expensive. We suspended this project until prices come down. We had to lay of the two caretakers who worked in these projects.

  ADVOCACY

Our advocacy efforts continued within the community, contacts and on social media.

 MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS

• Wrote two more proposals, one not successful and one awaiting results
• Applied for a Volunteer Grantwriter and Business Developer from  Australian Volunteers International (AVI)
• Overhauled the website and updated with new photos and videos
• Hosted a certified Physiotherapy and her final year students from Stony Brook University for the fifth time. They conducted a workshop for our staff, parents/guardians/caretakers of out more severely physically challenged students.
• A visit by three professors from the University of Central Arkansas seeking for possible placements for student visita and internships
• Introduced Tailoring as an IGP
• Had a bumper harvest of pawpaws and vegetables and so were able to supply Faraja Orphanage monthly. 

 SUSTAINABILITY

SSLC is supported by donations, grants, student Sponsors and Volunteers. We are getting better at managing the IGPs and improving production, marketing and sales so as to get additional income.  However, we are still suffering from the negative impacts of COVID-19, Delta and  Omicron, compounded by the Ukraine war. Competition for donors is stiff. In many calls for proosals, donors have their own criteria and interests outside our priority needs. We are very grateful for GlobalGiving and our donors especially those who faithfully give recurrently through this platform.. It was great to participate in the July Bonus Campaign.

Margaret Kenyi

SSLC, 21/09/2022