Habibo in class using a braille during a lesson
At Juba Comprehensive School in Dagahaley camp, 15-year-old Habibo Hussein’s story is one of resilience and transformation, a result of the introduction of TeachWell project in Dadaab refugee camp. Once a sighted learner, Habibo unfortunately lost her vision while in Grade 2, a life-altering event that cast doubt on her educational future. She was unable to attend school regularly and freely with her parents forced to escort her to school daily if at all she was to access education. Failure to provide this kind of support by the family meant another day of missed learning. But escorting her to school also meant extra transport costs which only added to their already existing family’s financial burden.
However, hope returned when Habibo joined the special unit in her school, where she quickly adapted to learning through braille. This was an opportunity for her to catch up with learning and hopefully rewrite her future. But despite her enthusiasm in the new way of learning, it was not going to be easy. Limited adaptive and assistive resources within the special unit posed a challenge. The situation was however going to change for the better when the TeachWell project, through the Crisis Modifier mechanism, stepped in.
The project was able to distribute assistive devices which included Perkins braille machines, orbit readers, speech articulators and talking calculators which led to revolutionization of Habibo’s learning experience.
Habibo during a Maths lesson using Talking Calculator
“The talking calculator has really helped me in math. I can hear every digit and operation I press. It is an amazing experience!” she shared with excitement in her voice.
No learner left behind
In Juba Comprehensive School’s special unit, learning is now interactive, inclusive, and empowering to learners like Habibo and her peers. Her story is a testament to how the right support can reignite hope and unlock potential in every learner.
Today, learning is exciting and Habibo, just like most of her classmates, has registered improved attendance to school despite her visual impairment. Furthermore, Habibo is not one to give up on challenges easily. Through commitment and resilience, she has adapted to the context and mastered the school geography for independent movement around the school compound.
“Nowadays, she goes to the toilet and the mosques alone, she doesn`t need any guide at all… she has a good mastery of all frequently visited places within the compound,” her teacher remarked.
Thanks to the TeachWell Project for impactful change in the lives of the refugee child.
About the Teachwell Project:
TeachWell is a US $27 Million Project that is being implemented for a period of five years (2023-2028) and will cover 100% of Primary and Junior Secondary School teachers in the refugee camps and host counties of Turkana and Garissa. Central to this activity will be the infusion of contextualized approaches to playful teaching and learning through the use of social and emotional learning (SEL), universal design by learning, and learning through play.
This project seeks to encourage learning through play in the classroom through teacher training and removing barriers to play and learning in refugee-hosting counties. This means investing in teachers’ knowledge, skills, and motivation; advocating for improved policies; and healthy and safe environments.
The Project will also invest in strengthening the resilience of schools to be able to prepare for, respond, and recover from the impacts of emergencies that threaten to disrupt teaching and learning.
