FEATURE

NEW VISION, Wednesday, November 12, 2014

27

Is it a jungle life for

children with disability ?
Beauty Kiwuule, 12, a pupil at Buckley
High Primary School in Iganga district
with a hearing impairment (as told
through an interpreter)
I like studying although sometimes we have
to study without interpreters. Sometimes, my
classmates help. The only problem is I cannot
catch up with their speed and sometimes I do not
understand. I also find it difficult to follow some
teachers sign language interpretations. Some of
them use different signs from the ones that we
know. This makes studying difficult. My parents
passed on. I am being looked after by my aunt and
uncle. I wish they could visit me at school. I enjoy
dancing so much and I am happy to represent my
school at dancing competitions. I want to run a
salon when I leave school.

For learners with disabilities, fitting in

school poses great challenges, not just
because of inadequate facilities, but
also because of the prevailing negative
attitudes on disabilities from their teachers,
classmates and parents. In part three of
our series, Stephen Ssenkaaba
shares personal testimonies of learners
with disabilities and how they cope in a
challenging education environment
Dorothy Esaete, 13, a pupil with
hearing impairment at Nakatunya
Primary School in Soroti district
I used to live with my parents until my father
asked my mother to take me away from
home. My mother brought me to live with
her sister. I walk five kilometres to school
every day. I come late to school because I
first have to do some house chores. This
affects my performance. I sometimes dont
understand what teachers say because some
of them do not know sign language. It is
sometimes lonely here.

Rashid Ssozi: One mans journey

I was five years old when I
suffered from measles during
the early 1980s. My parents
could not find proper treatment.
The disease left me blind. My
father, Yunus Batte, died during
that time, leaving my mother to
look after my siblings and me.
When the family moved from
war-torn Luwero to Masuulita
in Wakiso district, my mother
sent me to Kanzize Church of
Uganda Primary School.
At school, I was the only blind pupil. I
struggled to cope. Without specialised
tools to use, I had to listen carefully to
the teacher and rely on my memory to
learn. Teachers usually never came back to
explain concepts. I only did oral exams. I felt
bad that I could not play with my friends
and this affected my performance. My
fortunes changed when a man called Fred
Kasozi found me along the village path.
After consulting my mother, Kasozi (who
worked for Save the Children) took me to
a government-aided centre for visuallyimpaired children in Iganga district and
enrolled me at Bishop Willis Demonstration
School.
After two years, government sponsorship
to the school stopped. I dropped out. I
spent four years out of school until I met
another Good Samaritan called Washington
Mugerwa. I met him through Rose Munialo,
an inspector of schools.
Mugerwa gave me a vacancy at his

school, Rev. John Foundation

School, where I was given a
bursary. He also offered tools to
help me in my studies. I was 16
when I joined P5 there. Teachers
paid attention to me and with the
help of my braille tools and tape
recorder, life became easier. My
confidence improved. I served in
various capacities as sanitation
and student welfare prefect and
later as adviser to the prefects

board.
I passed with aggregate 16 at Olevel and
continued to Crane High School, where
with the support of Peter Birungi, the
director, I progressed. I became a student
council leader and worked very hard to
advocate students causes.
At Alevel, I studied literature. I often
asked my friends to read the novels out
loud for me as I wrote notes. I emerged
the best literature student in my school
and won a government scholarship to
study mass communication at Makerere
University.
At Makerere, I relied on a guide to
negotiate the complex campus geography.
I worked through the system and with
support from my lecturers, I was able to
complete my course. It has not been easy
to find a job. Wherever I go, employers
doubt my ability to perform based on my
visual impairment. They ask me to try
somewhere else. I am now considering
going into business to fend for myself.

TOMORROW: READ ABOUT SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION

IN OTHER COUNTRIES AND THE WAY FORWARD

Emmanuel Edeku, 19, P7, visually impaired pupil of St. Francis

School for the Blind Madera in Soroti district
I was studying from Okille Primary School in Kaberamaido district. When I got
promoted to P5, I was transferred to Madera in Soroti district. Here, teachers
were not happy with my poor performance. They took me back to P1. That
made me unhappy. I did not know how to use braille when I joined Madera,
but now I have learnt, except that we do not have enough braille machines
to use. We share the machines. Sometimes one has to wait for a long time
for ones turn. This delays us. I like to study, but my guardian does not have
enough money to provide pocket money and scholastic materials. He also
finds it expensive to visit me at school and is sometimes unable to collect me
from school at the end of the term. This hurts. Sometimes the headteacher
helps with some soap and sugar.

PARENTS VIEWS
Betty Mugenyi is the grandmother of
12-year-old Mike Ssebalu with a hearing
impairment and a P.2 pupil at Bishop
West Primary School in Mukono district
Ssebalu was only two years old when his father
died. He and his siblings were entrusted to my
care. I tried to enrol Ssebalu in a special school
in Ntinda in Kampala. I used to walk him to
Ntinda every Wednesday for induction lessons
until I gave up. It was too much work and I
could not afford it. I had decided to take him
out of school until a Good Samaritan offered to
support him in an inclusive school. That is why
I brought him to Mukono. Since he joined here,
he has improved.

Margaret Namawejje, mother to an

11-year-old P3 pupil with a hearing
impairment
My son suffered from malaria at five years.
He got an injection that affected his sense
of hearing. I had decided to not send him
to school because I did not see the point.
However, some people advised me to try.
It is difficult to put up with him because of
his inability to communicate with the rest
of the family. He is also short-tempered.
Keeping him in school is difficult because I
cannot afford the sh270,000 required by his
teachers. I do not see much hope for him in
school.

MAKERERE CENTRE FOR BUSINESS AND

MANAGEMENT SCIENCES

in partnership with IECD Announce the following career

enhancement and Management refresher short Certicate Courses.

UPCOMING SHORT MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATE COURSES (EVENING)

COURSE
Computerized Stores Mgt and Inventory Control
Procurement, Logistics and Supply Chain Management
Records &Information Mgt System
Public Administration and Mgt

DURATION
24th Nov- 12th Dec 2014
24th Nov- 12th Dec 2014
24thNov- 05thDec
24th Nov- 05th Dec

FEES UGX
300,000/
250,000/
300,000
250,000/=

Computerized Accounting Packages and Financial Mgt (Quick Books and Tally)

24th Nov- 05th Dec 2014

300,000/

Public Administration and Mgt

Project Monitoring and Evaluation
Project Planning and Management
Statistical Data Analysis using SPSS, EPI-DATA, STATA & MS Excel

1st - 19th Dec 2014

1st - 19th Dec 2014
1st - 19th Dec 2014
1st - 19th Dec 2014

250,000/=
250,000/
250,000/
300,000/

Computerized Accounting Packages and Financial Mgt (Quick Books and Tally)

8th Dec- 19th Dec 2014

300,000/

Marketing and Sales Management

8th Dec- 19th Dec

250,000/

Customer Care and Public Relations

8th Dec- 19th Dec

250,000/

All evening programs start at 5:30pm and end at 8:00pm Monday-Friday

Venue: Makerere University
Training Target: Managers, Ofcers in Public and Private, CSO, NGOs Sectors
Minimum Academic Requirement: UACE or Equivalent. Application fee : UGX 10, 000/=
Three or more participants from same organization get 20% discount.
We also offer in-house customized/special arrangement trainings
For more information and registration, please contact: Makerere University School of Psychology, Mental Health Department.
Call: Sarah- 0772 45 73 36 or 0702338823. Website: www.makererecentre.ac.ug
Email:makererecentre@gmail.com, iecdcourses@gmail.com.
Strengthening Organizational Culture for Effective Performance Through Skills Enhancing Short Courses