Including children with disabilities

We are shifting mindsets and transforming futures for children with disabilities in Uganda

In Karamoja, where poverty and exclusion intersect, children with disabilities face overwhelming barriers to accessing education, dignity, and opportunity. That’s why Link, in partnership with Save the Children Uganda, is leading powerful inclusion awareness dialogues across the sub-region—bringing communities together to reimagine what inclusion can truly mean.

Using the Inclusion Toolkit, we are:

• Reflecting with communities on the perception of disability
• Unpacking the root causes of exclusion
• Identifying barriers to access in education and society
• Exploring community-led solutions for sustainable inclusion

So far, 30 school communities have taken part in these transformational engagements. Each conversation is a step toward ensuring no child is left behind—not because of their ability, gender, or where they were born. Together, we are laying the groundwork for a future where every child, regardless of ability, is seen, valued, and supported to thrive.

We are building capacity in the education system to support children with disabilities in Malawi

In many classrooms in Malawi, children with learning difficulties sit silently, unable to follow lessons, excluded from group work, or even denied the right to education by parents or guardians. Clearly, it is not their ability that holds them back, but the lack of inclusive education knowledge of the people around them.

We brought together key district education staff (the “middle tier”) to reflect on the challenges that children with learning difficulties and disabilities face in school, and explored possible solutions. For many inspectors and supervisors, this was a rare opportunity to interrogate their own understanding of inclusive education and the importance of collecting accurate data on diversity in the classroom.

Then we trained 700 teachers in Dedza and Lilongwe to screen and identify children with disabilities and learning difficulties. Teachers were equipped with skills and tools to recognise and address the needs of learners with hearing impairments, visual impairments, deafblindness, and various learning difficulties.

Following the screening, teachers and district education staff are collaborating to support children with disabilities by:

• Using learner-centred, inclusive teaching methods
• Connecting learners to health services and agencies which provide assistive devices and technologies
• Fostering collaboration between teachers and parents to create conducive learning environments

When the people around them are able to understand and respond to their needs, all children can achieve their full potential. As one teacher put it:

“At first, I was afraid to take up the responsibility of dealing with learners who behave differently and require special attention in my class because I am not a special needs expert. However, this training has proved me wrong. I am also capable of offering the best of my ability to effectively support a special education needs learner to excel in class.”

The RISE Project is made possible with funding from the Scottish Government and delivered with our partners Chance for Childhood in Rwanda and School-to-School Zambia.