We expanded our work into Zimbabwe in 2023, to
reach more children and young people with
disabilities and to advocate for their rights.
Education is a right for all children. It is essential to their social, emotional and intellectual development. Great progress has been made to give all children an education, yet 90% of children with disabilities in low income countries still do not receive an education.
In Zimbabwe, quality services for children
with disabilities are hard to come by.
The vast majority of caregivers turn to traditional healers for help for their children with disabilities, indicating a lack of adequate information on disability.
We have registered 4,203 parents of children with disabilities into parent support groups.
Disability has long been considered a charity or welfare issue, rather than a rights issue, with limited resources made available for persons with disabilities.
We are very proud of our work in northern Uganda, where we have developed a combined early identification and Individualised Education Plan tool with Uganda Society for Disabled Children (USDC). We know that children with disabilities are at an increased risk of being left behind in school when their needs are not properly identified and addressed. Early detection of their needs therefore facilitates appropriate support and ensures better outcomes for children with disabilities.
Working with USDC and teachers from several schools, this resource has enabled us to increase in the number of children identified with additional learning needs in communities, with teachers better equipped to develop individualised plans to achieve their personal learning objectives. Crucially, this has supported children with disabilities to progress to higher classes as school, ensuring more children stay in school and be more likely to transition to further education.
Zimbabwe Parents of Handicapped Children Association (ZPHCA) is a group that is actively involved in advocacy and lobbying for the rights of children with disabilities and the rights of women in the areas of health, education and housing.
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