As we have discussed previously, the state of special education in developing countries, especially those in Africa, has been a dire one. With less than 2% of the total neurodiverse population being placed in appropriate schooling and resource options, the effort towards neurodiversity, inclusion, and accessibility has become more important than ever.
Over the past few weeks, we have worked with our partners at Viagenco and Disability Africa to cultivate inclusion seminars for teachers and caregivers that were interested in learning more about inclusive education and how to integrate such curriculum into their general education classes.
Over the April 9th-10th weekend in Kenya’s Homabay County, Benson Oswago, the Board Chairman of Viagenco, presented Unitopia’s lecture on inclusive education. With more than forty teachers from the southern region of the Homabay County in Kenya, teachers learned more about parental involvement, the purpose of individualized education programs even without legal mandates in the area, and the existing barriers to inclusive education. Along with that information, strategies to inclusion were provided.
Unitopia raised $2,500 for the provisions of the training venue, payment for meals and stay over the weekend, and the cost subsidization for transportation to one of the local schools in Homabay County.
We plan on hosting many more inclusion seminars to provide information about specific conditions that have higher incidence rates including autism spectrum condition, ADHD, cerebral palsy, and Down syndrome. These experiences are going to be critical to change the perspectives on inclusion, neurodiversity, and accessibility at a grassroots level.
Want to get involved or learn more? Reach out to us at publicrelations@unitopia.foundation or head to our Inclusion Africa page for more!