A Story of Resilience and Hope

With funding from Education Cannot Wait, Humanity and Inclusion is able to provide support to children with disabilities in Uganda

By Education Cannot Wait

December 3^rd, 2020

Special Contribution by Humanity and Inclusion

As part of the Uganda Education Consortium funded by Education Cannot Wait (ECW), Humanity and Inclusion is providing support to children with disabilities in BidiBidi Refugee Settlement in Uganda so they can continue their education.

Sabir is an 18-year-old refugee from South Sudan who currently lives in the Bidibidi Refugee Settlement in the West Nile Region of Uganda. He fled South Sudan following the outbreak of war and insecurity.

“My family and I were having lunch when we heard gunshots. Moments after, armed people entered into our house and shot my father dead. We all ran for our lives but while running, my knee knocked an anthill and I felt a sharp pain. The pain kept increasing day by day until I entered Uganda and sought medical attention. I was told the damage was great and the only remedy was to amputate the leg. My life has never been the same since,” says Sabir.

With support from Humanity and Inclusion, Sabir was provided with a set of crutches, a mobile phone, and psychosocial support to help him to cope with his new situation.

Humanity and Inclusion works with community leaders, teachers, and other ECW partners to identify children with disabilities for assessment and referral to specialized services. Sabir is happy that he received the support he needed at the right time. It saved him from using old and worn-out crutches he had owned since 2016 and had outgrown. They were causing him to bend while walking, which he says was causing him back problems.

He is now able to walk without complications and do other activities such as digging, visiting friends, and attending prayers at the mosque. The psychosocial support, provided through Tree of Life, has also helped Sabir get over the stigma that had caused him to isolate himself and dodge activities such as football with friends. He now feels comfortable about himself. In fact, he recently started participating in psychosocial support training organised by Humanity and Inclusion for children who are physically impaired in primary schools.

During the COVID-19 pandemic and school closure, Sabir listened to the classes aired on radio stations using the mobile phone that was provided to him by Humanity and Inclusion. Another partner under the Consortium, Finn Church Aid, also provided home learning packs for Sabir, which helped him continue his education at home.

According to Sabir, this support should be extended to all the children with disabilities to enable them to feel part of their society.

2019 Update

In Uganda, following ECW’s support to the Education Response Plan, the primary gross enrollment ratio for refugee children improved from 53 per cent in 2017 to 75 per cent in 2019.

Learn more about the impact of ECW funded programming in Uganda in our 2019 Annual Report.

Education Cannot Wait’s ‘Stories from the Field’ series features the voices of our implementing partners, children, youth and the communities we support. These stories have only been lightly edited to reflect the authentic voice of these frontlines partners on the ground. The views expressed in the Stories from the Field series do not necessarily reflect those of Education Cannot Wait, our Secretariat, donors or UN Member States.

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