Education for the most disadvantaged

The project is providing quality inclusive education for 1,200 out-of-school children including girls, children affected by conflict, and children with disabilities and special educational needs at schools and accelerated learning centres in North Kivu, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Read Innocent’s story, a true success story!

Innocent (name changed for safeguarding purpose) is a 13-year-old boy. He is the first born and is the only boy in a family of 7 children. He has a physical disability he was born with. His mother forced to bring him to school but he was refused access due to his physical disability which prevents him from walking. Instead he uses both his hands and knees to crawl.

“I was discouraged by some of the school head teachers that I had to stay at home. The school that I was attempting to attend had told my mother that I should not come back to school and advised my mother to bring me to the centre for children with disabilities,” said Innocent.

During the field visit activities under the “Education: The Right for Every Child” project, the chief of the village informed Innocent’s mother that there is a project to support children with disabilities. Innocent’s mother met with the project staff and they visited Innocent at home to tell him about going back to school.

Because the head teacher was trained and his school was among the partner schools, the school did not hesitate to accept Innocent as a student. Now, he is in level three of his primary education, and he is thankful to Agnes, the learning support assistant who is helping him travel to and from school.