CST Inclusive Pre-School, Tanzania
Tanzania
Why the Child Support Tanzania school matters
Recent figures show that 98% of children with disabilities in Africa are not in school. The Tanzanian government in 2010 introduced a ground-breaking policy to ensure that children with disabilities have the right to primary and secondary education, yet this has so far been difficult for existing schools to fully implement due to the fact that schools are not built with accessibility in mind.
The design
The previous school operated by Child Support Tanzania had outgrown its premises. Able Child Africa, a UK-based charity which exclusively works with and for disabled children in Africa, and Child Support Tanzania asked us to design a new school campus on a government-donated site.
The design includes spacious, well-lit classrooms for 160 children, a dining hall, music rooms, computer rooms, physiotherapy spaces, a hydrotherapy pool, a sensory garden and outdoor play areas and a sports field. The design is intended to be a model to inform the construction of other schools in Tanzania that want to become inclusive schools.
The impact
The Child Support Tanzania School enables children with disabilities to join a mainstream school curriculum at age five. By integrating able-bodied children alongside those with disabilities, through play and learning together, wonderful friendships stimulate development and prove disability is not a handicap in life.
‘The CST School is changing the way children with disabilities are perceived in Tanzania. The school is now recognised as a model school by the government and over 280 teachers in the region have been trained in the new dining hall on how to include students with special needs in the classroom as well as the importance of child rights, child protection, and safeguarding,’ said Noelah Msuya, teacher and founder of Child Support Tanzania.
PROJECT TYPE: Pre-school for children with disabilities and able-bodied children
PROJECT PARTNERS: Child Support Tanzania and Able Child Africa
ENGINEERING PARTNERS: Engenuiti (Structural), Hoare Lea (M&E), and WSP (Civil)
STATUS: Phases 1 - 4 are complete and Phase 5 is now in construction
