Kachikau Primary School Disability Unit
Kachikau Primary School Disability unit currently accommodates about 32 students with disabilities from the villages in Chobe, Botswana. The unit provides schooling, accommodation, and daily meals for the learners.
The school infrastructure was ill-equipped to support learners with special needs as it lacked basic infrastructures such as wheelchair ramps and paved walkways. This made it increasingly difficult for learners using a wheelchair to move around the school premises. The school also did not have adequate dining facilities. As a result, learners would eat their meals on the ground outside the classrooms.
ABCF built wheelchair ramps at the school and paved the walkways to allow for easy access and movement for learners at the school and, we built a communal outdoor dining shelter at the school.
Our long-term goal for the school and the impact we want to have:
The facility improvements made to the school aid in creating a more inclusive learning environment for all students. The dining area allows us to reduce health risks and create a space for socializing.
The disability unit identified learners enrolled at the school who qualify to take the Educational Psychological Assessment which would allow learners with special needs to graduate from this school. These assessments are conducted by the Ministry of Education in Botswana. This department is understaffed which results in a long waiting list of learners who are waiting to take the assessment so they can pass and graduate.
We identified a private institution in Botswana that is certified by the government that can conduct the Educational Psychological Assessment on the learners. By partnering with this institution, we are fast-tracking the educational assessments for the learners at Kachikau Primary School Disability Unit, allowing them to complete the assessment and graduate from the school.
The assessments were conducted on the learners and the recommendations from the outcomes of these assessments allow the learners to now write customised exams based on the feedback/special assistance needed for each learner. Once they pass their school exams they can progress from primary school.
By providing learners with disabilities access to assessments, we are empowering and equipping these learners. Allowing them to graduate and further their education enables continuity of education development which will improve their chances of finding employment opportunities.
An improved graduation and pass rate allows for more learners to be enrolled on the disability unit, which increases access to quality education and learning facilities to other learners with disability in the community
