Everyone has the right to education and community inclusion, and we are dedicated to supporting children and teenagers like Mariam in achieving this. We are thrilled that Mariam has successfully returned to school for over a year now!
Mariam, a teenage girl from Bagamoyo, lives with her Bibi (grandma). The non-verbal autistic girl had been going to school at a special needs class years ago and loved school there. However, when the government cut funding for school buses for children with special needs about four years ago, the low-income family was not able to afford her transport to the further away school – thus Mariam had been contained at home all day long without community inclusion.
We were able to arrange for transport to bring her to school and back home for the past year now – and are continuing to do so. She is riding a private school bus with her neurotypical peers to school, and is being picked up at school by her teacher. She rides a bajaji (motorized tricycle) home as school hours for the special needs class differ from regular hours. Her teacher reports that she is integrating well at school and connecting well with her classmates. We are also supporting Mariam with school uniforms, school supplies, sanitary items, and clothes.
