Do you remember Alex?

In 2019 Alex was one of the ten specialized teacher students from Patandi Teachers College on exchange at Molde University College in Norway. Alex became a real agent of change, and he made specific plans about how he, after return, could contribute to a better life quality of children with disabilities in Tanzania (see blog post from 2019). We hoped that he would be able to stick to his noble plan and keep up the good spirit also after return to Tanzania, but we also knew that ‘going solo’ also may involve many challenges.

Monday 21. of February, we had the great pleasure of visiting Alex at Busami Primary School, Busega District in Simiyu Region, where he is working as a specialized teacher. There was no doubt that a great change had taken place at this school! We saw happy children playing with each other and interacting trustfully with teachers. We were told that the teachers had stopped to ‘use the stick’ and that the children now enjoyed going to school, and they did not run away anymore. This was also confirmed by the school leadership and the other teachers, and they said that ‘we are together in this’. Together with Alex they also focused on including children with disabilities as pupils. 

Obviously, Alex managed to keep the good spirit, but he has also experienced many challenges, such as the need for transport for children with disabilities who are not able to walk to school, and equipment to facilitate inclusion of these children’s needs. Although there is still a long way to go, lets hope that change agents such as Alex never give up, but will continue to work for the best of children with disabilities also in the future, together with his colleagues.