Rapport fra SIAC – funksjonshemming og skadelige skikker.
Singida Inter-African Committee (SIAC) har i 2015 arrangert et to dagers seminar i Ikungi for 50 ungdommer om funksjonshemming. Gruppen var blandet, deltakerne var med og uten funksjonshemming.
SIAC arbeider med økonomisk støtte fra Norad via FOKUS/Kvinnefronten mot tradisjonelle skadelige skikker. Seminaret er et ledd i dette arbeidet. I Singidai regionen forekommer kjønnslemlestelse og drap av personer med albino hyppig. Rapporten forteller om grunnleggende enestående resultat, som peker mot økt selvfølelse og styrke hos ungdommene med funksjonshemming og økt inkludering i samfunnet.
Les rapporten under:
SINGIDA INTER AFRICAN COMMITTEE
CAPACITY BUILDING TO DISABLED
ON HOW TO PARTICIPATE EQUALLY
IN THE EFFORTS TO BRING THEIR WELFARE IN VARIOUS SOCIAL ASPECTS
IKUNGI MCHANGANYIKO PRIMARY SCHOOL
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Disability can be defined as the consequence of an impairment that may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental, or some combination of these. A disability may be present from birth, or occur during a person’s lifetime. For qualifying disability, the impairment or effects should be consistent and prevail for long period of time, usually not less than a month and in most cases, for the lifetime. According to WHO, 15% of the population, have a disability severe enough that it limits their participation in family, community and political life. In Tanzania, over 3 million people fall in the group of disabled.
People with disabilities have the same health needs as non-disabled people – for immunization, cancer screening etc. They also may experience a narrower margin of health, both because of poverty and social exclusion, and also because they may be vulnerable to secondary conditions, such as pressure sores or urinary tract infections. Evidence suggests that people with disabilities face barriers in accessing the health and rehabilitation services they need in many settings.
In 2015, Singida Inter African Committee took initiative to conduct a training to the group of disabled students in Ikungi Mchanganyiko primary school, Ikungi district, the training aimed on capacity building to children with various forms of disability so as to enable them to participate equally in different efforts which have been made by the government, donors, organizations, individual activists and other stakeholders in attaining welfare to people with disability
2.0 ABOUT THE TRAINING
The training was conducted for two days on 24th and 25th September 2015, to 50 students from Ikungi Mchanganyiko Primary school, both girls and women. To encourage equal participation, the trainee also included non disabled students. The training was conducted ion form of seminar with learning sessions, time for group and individual exercises, group discussion and sharing of various cases studies on how determined disabled people have been able to make a difference in their communities’ development.
3.0 OBJECTIVE OF THE TRAINING
General objective of the training
Generally, the training aimed on capacity building to children with various forms of disability so as to enable them to participate equally in different efforts which have been made by the government, donors, organizations, individual activists and other stakeholders in attaining welfare to people with disability.
Specific objectives of the training
To provide formal education on the concept of gender based violence especially female genital mutilation.
To train disabled students on how to communicate various information on FGM in their local environment
To capacitate disabled on how to use the concept of peer education in delivering education relating to FGM and GBV in the community
To clarify myth and stigma prevailing that disabled can not engage with comparatively similar efforts in affecting community development.
4.0 TOPICS COVERED
The two day seminar was conducted covering the following topics (Also see the timetable in annex 1)
The concept of community development
Disability and community development
Participation of disabled in community development
Disability is not inability
Doing away Stigma and stereotype
5.0 RESULTS OF THE TRAINING
The following were the result that were expected during setting the training and were shared to all participants during officiating the training;
Expected results
Disabled students will gain the knowledge on how to participate equally in various community development activities
The number of peer educators with disability increased and this will make it easier to reach the larger group of disabled in the community.
The rights for the people with disabilities shared and increase the spirit of lobbying and advocacy in policy formation and implementation
Disabled and non disabled students joined to form a club so as to address equality practically
Cases studies shared so as to do away with the tendency of stigmatization and stereotypes
Achieved results
Ikungi Mchanganyiko primary has formulated a club with the mixture of both disabled and non disabled students who work jointly to address various gender issues such as how to reduce gender based violence and harmful traditional practices such as FGM and killing of albino. The club with 24 members has been able to induce behavioral changes and as a result, larger community of students in Ikungi Mchanganyiko primary has learned on how to report FGM and GBV cases in a secured channel.
A case story of a disabled in Tanzania who is blind but has been able to be a very famous lawyer who works in ending FGM helped to change the attitude of many students. Before the training, only 21 students out of 50 (42%) believed that they can study to the university level, but after sharing the case study, in the end of the training, 100% of the attendants believed that they are on their way to higher learning institutions. The same findings have also been noticed in April to the same group.
Two cases on FGM have been reported since the training was conducted. Unfortunately, these students left the school and were mutilated at their villages where the project is not implemented in Manyoni district.
Conclusively, the training has generated some positive changes in the community. It is now easy for SIAC to reach the group of disabled in the community by using fellow disabled who have been trained and they are experts in non verbal language, it make it easier to reach the larger group.
ANNEXES
S.NO
EVENT
RESPONSIBLE
DAY 1: 24/09/2014
Arrival
All
Introduction
Head master and coordinator
Opening remarks
SIAC coordinator
Officiating the training
SIAC coordinator
Session One: The concept of community development
Mr. Timothy Peter
SIAC Planning officer
Exercise 1: Screening the community and surroundings
Participants
Breakfast
All
Session Two: Disability and community development
Mr. Timothy Peter
SIAC Planning officer
Group discussion: FGM as the issue to disabled group
Participants
Case study sharing: Disabled woman making a difference in the community; A dream made true!
Mr. Timothy Peter
SIAC Planning officer
Lunch
All
Evaluation of the day
SIAC Coordinator
Participants
Closing of the day
Head Master
DAY 2: 25/09/2015
1
Arrival
All
2
Recap of the day one
Mr. Timothy Peter
SIAC Planning officer
3
Session Three: Participation of disabled in community development
Mr. Timothy Peter
SIAC Planning officer
4
Exercise 2: Identifying the elements of non participatory community development approaches
Participants
5
Breakfast
All
6
Session 4: Disability is not inability, breaking the silence!
Mr. Timothy Peter
SIAC Planning officer
7
Group activity: Are disabled able?
Participants
8
Lunch
All
9
Session 5: Doing away Stigma and stereotype
Mr. Timothy Peter
SIAC Planning officer
10
Exercise 3: Do we have self stigma?
Participants
11
Evaluation of the training: Simple test!
All
12
Closing the training
SIAC Coordinator
Table 1:1 The timetable of the two day training to disabled at Ikungi Mchanganyiko primary school
Type of disability & Non disabilities
Number
Total blind
9
Low vision
8
Albinism
14
Physical disabilities
9
Non disabled
10
Total
50
Table two: Distribution of attendants by type of disability
Annex 3: Various pictures during the training
[1] http://www.who.int/disabilities/en/
[2] http://www.who.int/topics/disabilities/en/