Special children need special attention. But in some communities, having a special child is considered a curse due to the stigma associated with it. This has seen these children become disadvantaged because some are hidden away from the public and they also miss out on education opportunities.
Having seen and experienced this, Gladys Deche founded St. Peter’s the Rock Special School in Mombasa, Kenya to cater to those with special needs.
“I started this school in 2005. These children were learning together with the normal children, to help one another in learning. But some parents were not happy, they started withdrawing their children from our school. I then opened two schools, one for the normal kids and this one for special children,” Deche said in an interview with CGTN.
Deche is no stranger to taking care of handicapped children. She began the school after retirement, having worked at Tudor Special School for the Mentally Handicapped for 26 years. She is optimistic that these children will be inspired and become better citizens.
“Here we are teaching them life skills so that they can help themselves. They know how to do beading, they know how to wash clothes, spread their beds, and sweep,” she said.
As a 30-year-old who was born with Down Syndrome, Patrick Deche has been at the institution for over two decades. His mother Alice Deche brought him here when he was just seven years old. It wasn’t easy for her at the initial stages, as she says she faced stigma from the community.
“The first challenge when I gave birth to a child with Down Syndrome, I used to ask myself what people would say. I was stigmatized. Sometimes you are walking by the roadside, people stare at you. Stigma really hit me so hard as a mother. You go to church and everyone is looking at you,” said Alice Deche.
It has been a tumultuous journey for her, a journey that has seen her miss out on opportunities like traveling outside the country or just being away from her child. This has presented also fears in her life for the child.
“Will this child be a burden, will he be independent, if today I am not alive, what happens to my child? those are my fears, as a mother.”
Alice Deche is however hoping that Stephen will someday settle down and probably get married to the love of his life.
“Today, my son is 30, he’s supposed to be settled but as I told you earlier when I attend a wedding with him and he sees the bride, he says that’s his wife. He wishes to have a wife. When he sees a beautiful lady, he wishes she was his, so I desire that one day, he can get settled with a wife who loves him just as he is.”
Judith Misiko,a teacher at St. Peter’s the Rock school said despite the fact that these children were slow to learn but once they grasp something, they did not forget it quickly.
“I want to see transformed children, for instance, those who cannot read, they should be able to write, count money, write their name, go somewhere without asking for directions,” Masiko said.
She added that teaching these children needs total commitment and passion. Some of her colleagues quit teaching after serving here for a short time because of the challenges associated with teaching special kids.
“For the normal children, it is easier to teach them, how to write, when you explain things to them you do not have to repeat yourself. But for these ones, it’s a hard task because you can teach one thing for an entire term even two. Some of them cannot go to the washrooms on their own, they need to be assisted,” Masiko added.
Alice Deche is calling on all parents with children with special needs not to neglect them but try to expose them to opportunities and the world at large.
“If your child is one year, ten years, or even months old, there is an opportunity for them. Do not neglect that child. They should mingle with others, take him to church, expose him to other children, he will develop. If you close them in, you’re denying them opportunities,” she said.
