Disability Advocate Training in Zambia

Our Community Outreach Training Team has created a community that cares, accepts and includes children with intellectual disabilities and their families. To date we have trained 1,070 community advocates and counting. These trainings educate and empower Disability Advocates as they work to create a world where children with intellectual disabilities are welcomed and valued. We are currently working in 3 compounds where Special Hope Network has community care centers. This has opened up an inviting community where our families live.

Here are some updates and testimonials from some of our volunteer advocates:

"I am a script writer and film producer, working with different media houses.

I got introduced to Special Hope Network Advocacy Training and I completed the courses. Since then, I have been involved in community sensitization activities that involve finding children with disabilities as well as a disability awareness program with my youth group.

I and my fellow advocates formed a cooperative that is raising funds to help families that have a child with intellectual disabilities and I have taken steps to include some parents, to show them that they are needed. Being a script/film producer, I have worked on a film about inclusion of kids with intellectual disabilities, stigma, and injustice. I hope that we can change the perceptions of our community on kids with intellectual disabilities using media."

-Peter

"I am a trained teacher and also a disability advocate with Special Hope Network.

Being someone who owns a school, my teachers would bring challenges faced from the children with intellectual disabilities. We have opened a unit that will look after children with special needs at our school. I take it upon myself to sensitize the parents that bring their children and also the community that they can bring their kids to Special Hope Network.

The community has received our school program to include kids with intellectual disabilities because those with more challenging behavior are referred to Special Hope Network community care centers. My school is privately owned, so I have been talking with my teachers to join the advocacy course and encourage their friends to join as well.

The advocacy course has made things easy for me to understand and help parents handle their children's behaviors due to intellectual disabilities."

-Racheal

These are just two stories of the 1070 advocates who have been trained so far in Lusaka and we look forward to continuing to hear how they are making a difference in their communities to advocate for children with intellectual disabilities and their families. Thank you for supporting us in this mission!

Links:

• https://www.specialhopenetwork.org