ALL GIRLS AND CHILDREN WITH DYSLEXIA HAVE A RIGHT TO EDUCATION.

I am working to promote the rights of Students with Dyslexia so that they can also be able to stay in school and complete their education. They deserve that and much more.

I am a female Ugandan that was born on 12th June 1981. I lost my father when I was 4years old, my only sister Sarah was 2years old, and our youngest brother Peter was 1month old while our big brother Joshua was 6years old. Life was not easy without our father but we were lucky to have our paternal uncles who took us up and helped us attain some level of education.

My uncle (May his soul rest in peace) was an educationist and he always told me that if I ever want to make a difference in someone’s life, I should help him or her access education. I was trained as a teacher for English and Literature and this profession led me to the category of children that I never knew existed. My first job as a teacher was in an integrated special school where children with learning disabilities were studying alongside their regular counter parts.

There were different students with different learning disabilities among which included those with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism, the deaf and students with Dyslexia. Out of all these conditions, students with Dyslexia caught my attention because their condition was so unique to me. These are students who appeared very bright; they could participate so well in class, take part in leadership positions, speak so well in public and take part in debating competitions, however they were always the last in class. Dyslexia is a learning disability that affects an individual’s reading, writing and spelling skills.

Their condition disturbed me so much that I had to do a lot of research about it and see how possible I could make a difference in the lives of dyslexic students. I went to study a course in special needs education which I completed and begun my journey of advocating for the rights of children and students with dyslexia. I began doing assessment for these children and sensitizing teachers and parents on how to identify and help such students so that they can excel in academics.

Working with these children always led me to their parents. I found myself doing counseling for these parents though I was not a trained counselor. These parents were as frustrated as their children because they always watched them fail to read even the simplest words and sentences, some of their younger siblings would read much better than the dyslexic children and sometimes parents thought that their children were bewitched which was never the case. Schools would ask these students to repeat classes without considering that if they offered them some extra attention, they would actually improve on their performance. These students would be called all sorts of bad names leading them to depression and low self-esteem.

I am glad that I was able to stand in the gap for some of these students because as I talk today, they are able to get special consideration during examinations. They are given transcribers to read and write for them during examination periods because these dyslexic students always know the answers but they can’t write the down on their own. They are now given extra 30minutes as compared to the regular students, during class work, some of them are recorded while doing exams, their teachers are encouraged to do a lot of probing with these students as well as prepare an Individualized Education Program (IEP). This has helped to restore HOPE in the lives of these students.

Since I was working closely with parents of the students and they always needed a lot of counseling, I later decided to go for another degree in Guidance and Counseling. This has helped me to empower so many students and their parents who had at some time lost all hope. I have seen dyslexic students move from one step to another. Some of them come back to thank me for training their teachers to understand their condition.

Last year I happened to be one the TEDx Speakers and my presentation was about Dyslexia identification and management. This was organized by TEDxNakaseroWomen and there was a very big audience. It is amazing how many people have come to me after watching my video presentation on you tube. Many were able to realize what had gone wrong with their children and they were helped to access schools that can help their children and currently they are receiving special attention and are registering a lot of success. This is where I find my joy and happiness, to make a positive difference in someone’s life.

The Dyslexic students no longer drop out of school because now teachers know what it means and they try to offer extra attention. I must say that there are many schools out there where I have not reached and of course the dyslexic students in those schools must be suffering a lot, but am hopeful that one day I will have the capacity to reach out to all schools with support from donors and other development partners.

I now have an organization called Health Promotion and Rights Watch Uganda (HPRW-U) www.healthrightswatch.org where I am the Executive Director. Our organization aims at strengthening health systems in Uganda with strong emphasis on Special Needs Education, Sexual Reproductive Health education, Menstrual Hygiene management, Guidance and Counseling , Adult Literacy program as well as Mentorship programs for the youth. Our programs run through schools in Kampala, Mukono, Wakiso, Mbarara and Bushenyi districts. We are glad that we are empowering the adolescents and the youth in schools and higher institutions of learning.

Thanks to all that I do, am now the Central Region coordinator for Girls Not Brides- A global partnership working to end child marriage and Teenage pregnancies. The campaign that speaks for the Girl Child and promotes their education and retention in school. I am also a team leader at Raising Teenagers Uganda- A platform that provides space for the teenagers’ engagement on a wide range of issues that impact on their lives and promotes guidance to adulthood.

I have made presentation on different platforms in regard to the rights of Special needs children mainly those with dyslexia and Mental retardation as well as the right to education for the girl child. These presentations have touched many lives and that is my pleasure. Making a difference in people’s lives through helping them access education.