Education Tanzania, United Republic of Project #44610

Empower 35 students with disability in Tanzania

by Step-by-Step Learning Center

Empower 35 students with disability in Tanzania

Project Report | Jan 18, 2022
Empower 30 Students with Disability in Tanzania.

By Margaret Kenyi | Project Leader

Adult Students: Hadija, Dorine and Winfrida.

EMPOWER 30 STUDENTS WITH DISABILITY IN TANZANIA, REPORT NUMBER 6: MAIN ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF STEP BY STEP LEARNING CENTRE, SSLC IN 2021.

INTRODUCTION: This report will summarise the main activities and achievements of 2021 vis a vis our vision, mission, goals and activities.

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 Job skills in order to achieve a degree of independence and dignity.

MAIN GOALS

Fifteen young students (age 6 to 17) with mental and physical challenges will access appropriate education, life skills training and appropriate therapy.
Fifteen 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.
Six Income Generating Projects (IGPs) will receive enough input to become viable and self-sustainable.
Fourteen Staff will receive support to provide compassionate, high quality holistic teaching, training and therapy to SSLC students.

MAIN ACTIVITIES

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

STAKEHOLDERS: In 2021, we had a total of 210 project participants and beneficiaries (107 females and 103 males). These were students, staff, parents/ guardians and their families.

JUNIOR CORE PROGRAM (AGES 3 TO 17)

Most of our students came from poor families without the means to pay for therapy or education that can improve their wellbeing, and they (especially girls) were at high risk of discrimination, neglect, sexual and physical abuse if left to fend for themselves in the community. The Junior Program had 16 students with varying degrees of physical and mental challenges: 7 with autism, 8 cerebral palsy and 1 Downs syndrome. Two students dropped out due to difficult family circumstances. 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). We enrolled 5 new students in 2021. However, there was a growing list of other young students waiting to enroll.

HOME BASED PROGRAM (HBP)

The HBP served 5 students who could not attend school due to distance, difficult family circumstances and severe physical challenges. Teachers followed them home on Fridays. When we had visitors offering intensive specialist services and training, such as in physiotherapy or occupational therapy, we invited them and their guardians/caretakers to attend the workshops.

ADULT PROGRAM (AGES 18 AND ABOVE)

SSLC’s Adult Program catered for 12 adult students most of them graduates from the Junior Program: 4 are living with autism, 2 cerebral palsy, 2 Down’s syndrome, 2 slow learners, 1 albinism and 1 Pfeiffer’s type I syndrome. They learnt job/employment skills on the job in our Income Generating Projects (IGPs). The IGPs are developed on the school premises so that adult students safely engaged in producing and selling products to generate revenue which, supplemented by grants, can give them an income. These IGPs include livestock keeping of sheep, chicken, fish, bees and ducks; fruit and vegetable farming and jewelry making using beads. These activities have been our most effective advocacy demonstrating that disability is not inability. They also enhanced the students’ independence and value to their families thus reducing the stigmatization and rejection that most of them experience. The ultimate goal is to settle, in due course, an Adult Program graduate back into her/his community with her/his own business after mastering an income generating project at SSLC and /or when the family and community environment is judged to be positive for the student.

One heartwarming story of an Adult Student is that of Hadija Bakary who was saved narrowly from an early marriage. Hadija is 20. Someone from her community reported to the Director of Albino Peacemakers that there was a young albino girl being sold off to an early marriage to whoever can pay her father anything. She was reported to be mentally challenged as well because she completed primary 7 with all zeros. I am on the BOD of Albino Peacemakers so Martha the director asked if we could enrol her on our Adult Program. I said yes and she joined SSLC. She had sun burn wounds all over her face and mouth. The eyes were so affected she couldn't look anyone in the eyes, instead she looked up or down to avoid the light. She was so shy she could hardly speak. She got all zeros because she couldn't see the black board.

Within just one month of intensive care, treatment and sunscreen protection supervised by Martha herself, plus acceptance, kindness, patience and love from the safe, positive environment at SSLC, it was obvious that Hadija's "handicap" was false. She is a very smart beautiful girl, excelling and leading the others in the projects. She is beginning to read and write! She is aspiring to do her own business one day! Her life has completely turned around.

ADVOCACY

SSLC was an active participant in community activities such as Sports and the colorful marches around town on World Autism, Downs’ Syndrome and Disability Days. We raised public awareness of disability as a dignified state deserving of equal respect as the rest of society. SSLC’s work has become a model of care and provision for this population. In the past 16 years of my involvement, I have witnessed extreme denial where children are hidden to acceptance where many parents, guardians and community members turn up in large numbers to support students with disabilities.

MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS

Started Home Based Program (HBP) during COVID-19 lockdown.
Started COVID-19 relief activities, like distribution of food items.
We extended Income Generating Projects (IGPs) to include fruit trees, dairy cows and a biogas system.
Repaired block one by replacing the roofing, painting and tiling.
Constructed a second fishpond, a bigger chicken house and five-keyhole gardens.
Fenced the five acres school compound to improve safety for students and general security.
Pulled municipal water to school to get clean running water.
Virtually hosted students from Susquehanna University, Pensylvania, USA, to fundraise for SSLC
Had an external evaluation of Step by Step Learning Centre, SSLC done by a consultant.
Continued raising funds onto GlobalGiving (GG) platform.
Wrote three big proposals.
Established partnership with four universities abroad to volunteer with SSLC.
Recruited two special needs education graduate teachers.
Received a Direct Aid Program (DAP) grant from the Australian embassy.
Enrolled five new students into the program.
Participated in disability sports, International Autism day and Down syndrome day.
Received and worked with an overseas internship student
Received a Charitable Status from Tanzanian Government
Started construction of basic housing units for severe students to live on campus at SSLC
Conducted training sessions on Disability and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at a big convention for teachers organized by The Foundation For Tomorrow.

SUSTAINABILITY

SSLC is supported by donations, grants, student Sponsors and Volunteers. The Income Generating Projects grew, improved and are on their way to becoming viable Social Enterprises. However, the negative impacts of COVID-19, Delta and now Omicron are still very real. We have lost support from one major donor and so are grateful we can step up our fundraising on GlobalGiving this year, 2022.

Rethinking Education Workshop.

Gold and Silver medals on sports day.

A student and a teacher in class.

Bryson happy at school.

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Sep 20, 2021
Empower 30 Students with Disability in Tanzania.

By Step by Step Learning Centre | Founder and Executive Director

COVID-19 Relief.

EMPOWER 30 STUDENTS WITH DISABILITY IN TANZANIA, REPORT NUMBER 5, MAY TO AUGUST 2021.

A. INTRODUCTION: Step-by-Step Learning Centre’s vision is to build our capacity to provide a safe and stimulating learning and working environment for mentally and severe physically challenged students for as long as they need such support to learn age and gender-appropriate life and job skills in order to achieve a degree of independence and dignity. Our focus this year is fourfold: survive COVID-19’s disastrous effects, strengthen and expand our Junior Program for young students, establish our Adult Program for adult graduates from the Junior Program and expand SSLC’s financial support base.

B. OVERVIEW OF PROGRESS AGAINST OUR OBJECTIVES at just over half way through the year seems to indicate that things are slightly better in 2021 than were in 2020:

_______________________________________________________

Project Objective % completion Comments

_______________________________________________________

Survive COVID-19 75% All safe practices enforced

Vaccines now available to teachers _______________________________________________________

Rebuild and 70% Students progressing well

strengthen Junior Admitted 1 more student

Program

_______________________________________________________

Establish and 80% Expanded the Income

stengthen the Generating Projects (IGPs)

Adult Program _______________________________________________________

Expand SSLC’s Ongoing Good progress with sponsors, financial base donors, fundraising and propoals

________________________________________________________

C. PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND BENEFICIARIES

________________________________________________________

Participants in activities Females Males Total Students 11 15 26

SSLC Staff 5 9 14

Parents/Guardian families 90 66 156

(average 6 people per family)

________________________________________________________

TOTAL 106 90 196

________________________________________________________

D.THE CONTINUED NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF COVID - 19 is still very real. Many heads of households still have no jobs. Businesses, petty trade and subsistence Agriculture are beginning to pick up. We distributed more relief items in July, to help our students' families during the August break. 22 students and 12 staff each received 12 kilograms of beans, 13 kilograms of maize and 6 liters of cooking oil.

Hopes were raised with the arrival and availability of vaccines in August prioritising the elderly over 65, tourism workers and teachers. We hope there will be enough vaccines for everyone willing to take them and that there won't be a fourth wave! We continued to enforce all safe practices and monitor the COVID-19 national, regional and international status keeping all fingers and toes crossed!

E. THE JUNIOR PROGRAM FOR YOUNG STUDENTS continued to grow and thrive. We admitted one more student into the Home Based Program (HBP) totaling 5. Overall there are 16 young students: 4 with Autism, 10 Cerebral Palsy,1 Downs Syndrome/Trisomy 21 and 1 slow learner. Their attendance and progress for the second semester was equally good with 90% of the students attending school 80% and above. An evaluation of the Individual Learning Programs (ILPs) showed that 80% and above of the students made progress and achieved the goals laid out in their ILPs.

One particularly heart warming story is that of Ezekieli and Elisabeth, his Mum, conventionally refered to as Mama Ezekieli. Both and his big sister,were abandoned by his dad as soon as his severe physical challenge, drooling and lack of speech, all caused by cerebral palsy, became apparent. Loss of their bread winner heralded a long period of vulnerability, hardship and poverty. Mama Ezekieli did odd jobs like handwashing in homes that would allow her to carry Ezekieli along. Soon he became too big to be carried around. She asked for help so we raised funds to pay for her to board for one week with Ezekieli at Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation Tanzania (CCBRT) in Moshi while they gave him intensive physiotherapy and measured him for a fitted wheelchair. Mama Ezekieli also learnt basic exercises to do at home with him. Ezekieli came for intensive physiotherapy sessions whenever we got visiting Physiotherapists. He remained on our Home Based Program.

Having a good wheelchair for Ezekieli improved their lives just a little bit because they lived deep in a slum area so mobility was still limited due to the rugged pot holed roads. She towed with locking him in the house for long periods of time to look for work or ask around for help. She started to default on rent of a one roomed mud house which is usually low and affordable for someone in her situation. She told us for one month she was crying a lot for lack of options.

At the end of June, I made a proposal to my staff to consider her case. Despite our limited resources, we unanimously decided to move them to a decent rented room near the school, asked her to take care of the dairy cows while Ezekiel is attending school, advanced her a salary from her new job to bail her off from rent arrears for the old room and pay a deposit for the new room. Both their lives have just changed drastically! From July, our happy sight has been to find Ezekieli in his modern wheelchair, waiting for us to arrive at school in the morning while his mum keeps an eye on him from a short distance from our dairy cows. She is taking such good care of the cows as if to guard her new found luck. She is on probation for three months! She doesn't know that she has already got the job! Meanwhile Ezekieli is thrilled to be in class and occasionally enjoy his new found friends fighting to "drive" him around in his "car"!

F. THE ADULT PROGRAM FOR YOUNG ADULTS expanded to include 12 students: 3 living with autism, 3 cerebral palsy, 2 Down’s syndrome, 2 slow learners, 1 albinism and 1 Pfeiffer’s Syndrome type I.

We expanded the IGPs by investing in fruit trees. We transformed half an acre of terrible black cotton soil ground into a productive fruit orchard. We planted 71 grafted fruit trees: 7 avocadoes, 14 mangoes, 14 bananas, 5 oranges, 2 lemons, 2 tangerines, 2 limes, 18 pawpaws, 5 guavas and 2 kokomanga. We also planted 4 hibiscus, 4 ansaka, 2 bottlebrush and 100 sunflowers (for the bees) plus many beetroots, beans, cowpeas, vegetables and elephant grass for the cows. Students and staff have already taken home vegetables, beans and cowpeas from our own harvests. The first batch of beetroot harvested weighed 53 kilograms. There was a ready market for them in town.

The jewelry project has done well. The young students enjoyed beading. It was also excellent therapy for those students with ADHD (attention deficit with hyperactivity disorder) as it improves concentration and attention, and reduces hyperactivity. Eight out of our 12 adult students have now acquired good skills in beadwork. The project had a boost with recent orders from former contacts in USA and Germany.

A fully functioning biogas system was installed. We also bought 13 sheep (more resistant to disease than goats, one had a lamb already) and 2 pregnant Friesian dairy cows. By October, the cows are expected to have calves and produce enough milk for the calves, our tea and sales! We successfully raised a fourth and fifth batch of 400 broiler chicks. The chicken project became viable and sustainable, as there is good market for chicken in Arusha. The IGPs are slowly becoming viable social enterprises.

Being active and productive proved to be a big self-esteem and confidence booster and most importantly a mindset changer for parents and the community as they watched the kids who were thought to be useless and burdens bring income home!

G. SSLC’s LIMITED FINANCIAL BASE was the biggest challenge we faced especially with most donors opting not to fund salaries and buildings. COVID-19 exacerbated the situation. However, we have been able to retain one donor up to November 2021 and some of our old student sponsors. We are constantly fundraising and writing proposals. As I write, we are participating on the Little by Little campaign, great thanks to GlobalGiving and it's dedicated staff. GlobalGiving is keeping SSLC's hopes alive. We are very very grateful to you all our Donors.

Submitted by Margaret Kenyi

Founder and Executive Director

Step by Step Learning Centre, SSLC

17th September 2021

Classtime.

Ezekieli.

Mama Ezekieli.

Students making biogas.

A bountiful harvest of beetroot.

Links:

Visit our website for more information.

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May 20, 2021
Empower 30 Students with Disability in Tanzania.

By Margaret Kenyi | Founder and Executive Director

Adult Students

EMPOWER 30 SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS IN TANZANIA REPORT, JANUARY- APRIL 2021.

A. CONTINUED NEGATIVE EFFECT OF COVID - 19 is still very real as we could see from a number of our students who came back to school in January visibly thinner and unhealthy. Many heads of households still have not got their jobs back especially in the tourism sector. Most of our parents get their livelihoods from petty trade and subsistence agriculture which both suffered with loss of or less purchasing poweR. In February and March things got even worse as we experienced a bad second wave of COVID-19. Despite the fact that we put all protective measures outlined in the last report in place, wore masks, washed hands and kept distances, some students and staff still got sick. Thanks to your donations, we were able to give them prompt treatment. We were also able to replenish handwashing soap, sanitizers and masks. At the end of semester 1, we distributed to all the students and staff a total of 250 kilograms of beans, 250kgs. maize and 100 litres of cooking oil to buffer the students and their families during the holidays.

B. THE JUNIOR PROGRAM FOR YOUNG STUDENTS continued to thrive as we employed two fresh graduate teachers of Special Education to work with our older more experienced teachers and bring new ideas and competencies into the program. All the old students came back. We admitted 5 new young students out of which 4 are on the Home Based Program (HBP) because of the severity of their conditions. Staff follow them home on Fridays to do Physiotherapy, Reflexology, Speech Training, read stories and show them videos. The attendance for this period was good with 90% of the students attending school 80% and above. An evaluation of the Individual Learning Programs (ILPs) showed that 80% and above of the students made progress and achieved the goals laid out in their ILPs. The values of the weights, heights and arm circumference of the students confirmed that 2 students had stagnated in their growth while the rest made slight gains. All in all the kids were happy being at school, learning and playing with their friends in a positive safe environment.

C. THE ADULT PROGRAM FOR YOUNG ADULTS expanded and went very well this period. With your donations we were able to admit 3 new students into the program. They all spend 10% of the time strengrhening their Functional Literacy Skills and 90% learning Job Skills by fully participating in the Income Generating Projects (IGPs): jewelry making, gardening and keeping of livestock- goats, chicken, ducks, fish and bees. These activities besides bringing income, have proved to be great therapy for these students. We expanded the IGPs to include fruit trees and milk cows to increase income. Being active and productive have proved to be a big self esteem and confidence booster and most importantly a mindset changesr for parents and the community as they watch the kids who were thought to be useless and burdens now bringing income home! We train them to divide their stipends into 4: 25% take home, 25% savings (Akiba), 25% reinvest into the IGPs and 25% contribution to their transport to and from school. They will stay and work at SSLC until they have chosen and mastered a project well enough to be set up with one back home to run with help and supervision from home. SSLC will monitor and evaluate.

D. ENGAGEMENT WITH GLOBAL GIVING: We are preparing for July Bonus day.

BIOGAS & COW HOUSE

COVID-19 RELIEF FOOD DISTRIBUTION

FOOT PEDAL HAND WASHING UNIT

FRUIT

IMRAN LEARNING TO READ

Links:

Visit our website to find all our updates videos and photos

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