School Field Trip

Today we took a trip into the field to tour a couple of boarding schools in the Moshi area. We've started to work on a little research project assessing the accessibility of secondary schools versus primary schools for children with disabilities. Primary school is considered what would be grades 1-7 in the U.S. for children ages 7-13. Secondary school is another 4 years for children ages 14-17. Then there is something called secondary advanced, and then students can go to a University if they want. Swahili is the main language for all primary schools, then once students move up to secondary schools the classes are taught in English (with the exception of Swahili class itself). Apparently, recent statistics show that children with disabilities are more likely to drop out of school before completing secondary schooling, or are performing more poorly. Ruth, our program manager, and a special education teacher from America put together this little study and recruited us for some help.

Our first school we visited is called Moshi Technical School. This is a boarding school for secondary education. We got to tour a couple of the classrooms, the bathrooms, the dining hall, library, and dormitory. I was completely surprised at the lack of accessibility in these buildings. There were hardly any ramps, and if they were they were not the standard "1foot for every 1 inch" rule. There were technically only 3 children with wheelchairs, but they required assistance for nearly every aspect of moving around on the school grounds. There are quite a few hearing impaired students that attend this school as well, but not all of the teachers know sign language. In this case, they have another student translating for them in the front of the class.

One of my favorite pictures. Just Mount Kilimanjaro chilling in the background. 

This is the outside of the laboratory classrooms. There's no way a wheelchair could navigate this! Apparently if someone wants to get in then they have to grab a few friends to lift them over this.

Inside one of the labs.

One of the lovely bathrooms. It was probably one of the worst smelling things I've ever had the opportunity to smell. But this is what a typical bathroom looks like in Africa (luckily I haven't had to use the "squatter" yet). Other than the rancid smell, there's no way a child with a wheelchair could navigate this! 

Outside of the school library. There are holes in the walkway that make it impossible to navigate a wheelchair around. All of the students in wheelchairs that we spoke to had told us they've never used the library because they can't get in. 

This is the ramp that goes to the "handicap accessible" bathroom. This picture doesn't quite do it justice, because it is much steeper than it looks. I had a hard time just walking up it! 

The second school we went to was called Msandaka School for the Deaf. This is a primary school for children with hearing impairments. There are about 8 or 9 classrooms, but only 2 or 3 teachers. They spend time rotating between classrooms. I got to whip out my extensive knowledge of sign language (and by extensive I mean spelling my name). The classrooms are quite small and there are only 10-12 students in each class, which make it much more conducive for learning. The kids here were awesome, and so bright!  I was also impressed by their resources, they have a lab with 19 computers.

 Msandaka was sponsored by the Lions International Club. 

Small classrooms that are close to the chalkboard, making it easier for children to see and learn.

I had to add this picture in here too. We caught a glimpse of the cooking in process. These are huge vats of beans and ugali over wood fire stoves.

I always wish I could post more photos of the children I see every day. They are so outgoing and fun. Hopefully I'll be able to snap some in the near future!

-K