It is common that disabled children in traditional low income communities are not sent to school. Even where primary education is free, it is not deemed worth the costs of uniforms, lunches or transport to send them to school. In many cases, schools are not appropriate place for them anyway, as special education training provision is extremely limited, and classrooms are often under staffed and overpopulated. Children with developmental delays are often quickly disregarded and excluded from education from the start.
Our project teams are on a mission to change this! In The Gambia, we have recently partnered with Gambian School Support to sponsors the transition of pre-school aged children who have shown capacity to learn at playscheme, into a high quality preschool, giving them the best start in their education. Our play teams visit frequently to monitor their progress and demonstrate to classroom staff how best to support them. The children are thriving, with one keen student learning all his letter sounds in 2 weeks!