Kyrgyzstan – Education for All

School education for children with disabilities

Background

Children with disabilities receive little attention in Kyrgyz culture. They are rarely seen on the streets. Many families are ashamed to have such a special child. Accordingly, integration and promotion in society are rare. Unfortunately, this also leads to the fact that most of them do not have access to school education. Jana, for example, cannot walk at the age of eight and has difficulty holding a pencil, but mentally she is hardly impaired. But she has not been to school. Sascha heard nothing for the first six years of his life until he finally got a hearing aid. So, at the age of eight, he is able to write but can hardly speak any words.

Vision

We hope that children like Jana and Sascha will experience support and individual encouragement at an early age in the future. That their parents and society learn to appreciate them in their individuality. Furthermore, we want them to be able to be part of society according to their possibilities.

Our project

Currently we have two local staff members and care for about 30 children from pre-school to primary school age. The children are disabled in various ways. With the help of logopaedic, ergo- and physiotherapeutic measures as well as social pedagogic care we try to support them in their strengths and to find ways together with them to compensate for their weaknesses. While for Jana this means a lot of practical gait training and exercises to promote hand and finger coordination, Sascha has to spend many hours listening very intently and learning to form the sounds he hears himself with his tongue. The goal is for both of them to participate in normal school lessons and achieve an appropriate level of education, which will open the doors for them to lead independent lives as far as possible.