By Christine Gibbon and Jane O'leary | KIMS Headteachers and Directors
KIMS has just celebrated the end of its second academic year of providing inclusive education for children who would otherwise be excluded from school because of their disabilities. The term ended with a Learning Showcase, when the children assumed the role of teacher to their parents. Together parents and students participated in a selection of interactive lessons from storytelling, drama, presentations, games, art and music as well as scientific investigations and historical enquiry using the information technology available. The parents were blown away as they began to appreciate how and what their children had learned this term. These lessons were so far removed from their own experience of learning through fear, by rote learning and traditional chalk and talk methods, the parents were not embarrassed to admit they had learned so much from their own children. “I can’t believe Ruth can read! She is the first in the family to read English. I can’t give the teachers enough praise,” said the grandmother of Ruth, a little girl with severe speech and language delay. There were also a few tears of pride shed as Jolly’s grandfather expressed his delight and surprise at Jolly being able to write some of her letters. Through his tears, he told us that he had never believed Jolly, who has Cerebral Palsy, to be capable of learning anything.
When the school closed in late June for the summer break, our team of 10 Ugandan teachers refused to take their leave and chose instead to run a summer school programme to prevent the children from regressing over the summer months, having made such significant progress during the term. Adopting two fun broad themes - ‘Teddy bears’ for the younger ones and ‘Pirates’ for the older ones - the school has continued in a more relaxed atmosphere into mid-July, for 4 days a week.
For children such as Jolly and Ruth summer school was a lifeline. Thanks to the endless commitment and dedication of the KIMS team, who volunteered to run the programme, many children like Jolly and Ruth would been left alone un-stimulated over the summer break as their parents and grandparents go into the field for long hours to work simply to put food on the table. They would also have been deprived of the daily nutrition that school provides and the level of therapeutic and learning support CWDs need on a regular basis. Our most vulnerable children have never been more at risk than in these challenging times when cost of living has trebled on Uganda.
It is only with the help of our big-hearted and compassionate donors that KIMS is able to continue to provide this crucial and valuable support which impacts so many young lives.
By Chris Gibbon and Jane O'Leary | Kyaninga Education Hub Directors
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