A great many organisations seem to pride themselves on being a ‘voice for the voiceless’. Whilst this might come from a place of good intent, it begins with dangerous assumptions.
Nothing about them, without them
"I’ve never thought about disabled children in Africa”
The paralysing effects of pity
At Disability Africa, we try to think things through before we act. We do get emotional sometimes, but we try never to let that guide our strategy.
The ones left behind
It’s a pretty terrible statistic that only 2% of disabled children in Africa attend school, so wherever we go, we are always keen to have the conversation.
Inclusive education in Africa: Look beyond the school gates
Only 2% of disabled children in Africa are attending school. This clearly isn't good enough. But what is inclusive education? Well, it's about much more than just being in the same room. We need to consider the complex reasons why disabled children are denied their right to a quality education and adopt a child-centred approach which looks beyond simple statistics.
Our top 5 achievements for 2016 - the year we changed more lives than ever before
How would you cope with a broken leg for 4 years?
Parenting is the hardest job in the world. Some things make it even harder
It’s true that being a parent of a disabled child is even harder because society places barriers in the way of disabled people and their families.
Disabled children are abused and abandoned in institutions around the world
We know things are bad in orphanages and institutions for disabled young people – but did we know they were as bad as this?
There's more to December than Christmas - we can't ignore World Disability Day
Building an inclusive world is a formidable task but it'll be well worth it
'I thought my child was a devil'
This isn’t what you expect any parent to say of their own child. However, in many African communities, when the child in question is disabled, this is not unusual. We heard this particular statement from a father at our most recent Parent Support Meeting in Gunjur, The Gambia. But we have heard it before. And it matters – a lot – because it is these persistent and negative attitudes that isolate and disable people with impairments.
A country of contrasts: Kenya's forgotten children
Our Project Development Officer for East Africa explores inequality, poverty and disability in rural Kenya