Theresia wants to change the local Tanzanian belief about people with disabilities

In my spare time, I like listening to gospel songs, discuss positive issue with different people, and to participate in social activities within my work place or at ceremonies. In Molde, I have tried hiking, climbing and bowling with my fellow Norec-participants from Norway and Tanzania. I have also tried some Norwegian food, and it was good.

The local belief in my community

There exists a strong local belief that when you get a child with disabilities the parents are doing something bad so it is a punishment from God. Some people also believe that people with disabilities cannot do anything without help. 

I am going to educate the society that disabilities can happen for anybody at any time, it may be caused by accidents, diseases, use of drugs and any other causes. Therefore, everybody should love, care, and support people with disabilities. Through village meetings and school meetings, I also want to teach my local community about UN right for people with disabilities for instance the right to education, equal treatment and employment.

Sometimes there is a long distance between the school and home, many pupils can’t travel long distance, especially the youngest and the children with disabilities. This is due to lack of support from their parents and the societies.  Instead, the children with disabilities remain at home, doing domestic work like herding animals. 

There is no equality between the people with disabilities and non-disabilities in Tanzania. In different sectors like the health-service, people with disabilities are treated badly. I will inform my local community about human rights (CRC and CRPD) and that all human beings are equal no matter the difference in color, religion, physical appearance or kind of education. 
Also in the employment sector, people with disabilities are few in numbers, even though they may be qualified. I plan to inform the teachers of my district about UN rights and equality, and thereby encourage employees to employ qualified personnel that happens to have a disability as well. This may improve the status of people with disabilities and make them economically self-sufficient at the same time.

The lack of specialist teachers

The second challenge is the lack of specialist teachers. This may also be a reason for parents not sending their child with disability to school. If they come to school, they may be neglected or bullied by the other children. The teachers have neither the skills nor the knowledge on how to teach and help the pupils with disabilities. I would like to recruit and teach volunteers (parents, fellow staff, and assistants) on how to teach children with special needs and how to stimulate and support the children in order to reach their full potential.