Learning

Here are some examples from Cambodia, Kenya, Rwanda, and Tajikistan that show how good practices in the provision of accessible learning materials are being put into practice during COVID-19.

After Kenya closed schools in response to the pandemic, the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development requested that eKitabu support students who are deaf by developing sign language videos that support early grade literacy for deaf children.

Classroom teachers, principals, and specialists are embracing an understanding that they do not need to wait for diagnosis or identification of a child’s disability to teach responsively. And, they are putting that understanding to work.

Kenya implemented the Tusome Early Grade Reading Activity in 2014. It introduced interventions at the grade 1 level beginning in 2015. Taking its name from the Kiswahili word for “let’s read,” the Tusome program was a five-year, nationwide effort.

In 2010, less than ten percent of Kenya’s primary school-aged children were reading at the national level benchmarks. Ten years later, largely due to the success of the Tusome program, nearly 66 percent of grade two students now read at grade level.

Kibera is the largest slum in Africa and KCEO’s Young Mothers Incubation Program has served over 200 women with disabilities, empowering them to be active in their communities through entrepreneurship and advocacy.

Deaf children represent a majority of all children with disabilities in Kenya. These children are not only an underserved group of students, but also a distinct language minority that uses Kenyan Sign Language as their native language.