Harriet Myendwoha is a special needs teacher, for 7 year-old Fred Sekayingo. The programme Fred gets to Z follows 40 year-old Harriet as she helps Primary 1 pupil Fred read the alphabet in Braille.

It is government policy to teach disabled children in mainstream schools in Uganda. But in reality, most schools only have a handful of children with special needs – and these children are often neglected because their teachers lack the expertise to cater for them.

During the past five years, Harriet and her headteacher, Ntairaho Byoona, have staged a revolution in special educational needs teaching at Kamurasi Demonstration Primary School. When Mr Byoona took over in 2000, there were only ten disabled pupils. There are now 145 pupils with a wide variety of disabilities.

Harriet
“I started developing an interest in special needs nine years ago. I saw many children with special needs being neglected by their parents and teachers. They were left at home, given less food and bad clothes, and left to fester in dirty bed linen. I told Mr Byoona we had to help these children – I wanted them to feel part of the community and have leadership skills.”

In 2000, Harriet studied a three-year diploma in special needs education, which she funded from her salary. She lights up when she teaches her class of 104 Primary 4 (Year 4 equivalent) pupils, masterfully involving the deaf and blind children at the front of the classroom whilst keeping the others engaged. The school’s 900 ’normal’ children are taught sign language as a discrete subject and encouraged to include the disabled pupils in everything they do.

Harriet
“We tell them the disabled pupils have to be treated equally. I encourage all the pupils to sign in class so the children can help one another. Sometimes children learn better from their friends. The totally deaf children mix very well and many of the special needs children are prefects. There is nothing these children can’t do.”

As special needs co-ordinator for 28 local government and private schools, Harriet works tirelessly to spread knowledge and good practice in other schools. She also visits 30 homes in the community, helps families to access health specialists and funding, and refers children to hospital. Harriet has enjoyed many successes. She cites the story of a mother she visited recently, who was miserable because she had a disabled child. Harriet introduced her to an appropriate health specialist and now the mother loves her child.

Harriet
“My responsibility is to sensitise parents so I urge them not to be too protective and to observe the rights of disabled children. I also guide and counsel teachers. Many of them don’t know anything about special needs, so I teach them sign language and Braille, and encourage them to use learning aids with deaf and blind children.”

Harriet helps Kamurasi’s teachers prepare class work in Braille and lesson plans for the disabled children. She also finds time to talk to the disabled children about their reproductive health, especially the mentally retarded pupils who have a tendency to become fond of men at a young age. She visits their homes and explains the undesirable effects of unprotected sexual intercourse, such as early pregnancy and HIV and Aids. She recently counselled a 13-year-old deaf girl, who was raped when she was fetching water from the well. Harriet spoke to the girl’s father and told him not to let his daughter go out alone again.

Harriet
“I can’t help feeling that if we had more workshops in special needs teaching our teachers would be superb. It’s a question of having money and enough training. It’s impossible to get every school up to scratch. I think money should be invested in specific schools, so they can have more classrooms and a lower pupil teacher ratio.”

Kamurasi has a resource room containing vocational tools, Braille books and kits for its blind pupils, which was funded by charity Sight Savers International. Ntairaho is now trying to raise money to build a new boarding house for 25 children as some of the pupils come from villages up to 30 miles away. The current boarders are housed in the old staff quarters, but the ceilings are infested with bats that urinate on their faces while they are asleep.

Harriet
“We still have challenges to overcome, but we are gradually showing the community that inclusive education can work. I am very happy and feel my objective is being achieved.”