Advocacy Material: Press Release
Introduction:
At the moment, there is no close estimate to the number of African Refugee Children with Disabilities in camps. In Africa as a whole, only two percent of children with disabilities attend school (ACPF 2011). According to UNHCR data, the gross secondary level enrollment rate over 40 countries stands at 34 percent. And without reliable and proper data, the conclusion surrounding the education for refugee children with disabilities is tragic. These children are being forgotten.In order to integrate these children into their refugee communities, UNCHR and the Global Campaign for Education ask for funding and permission to create multiple group model discussions in camps with Special Need Centers to research and break the negative stigmas surrounding the children and find ways of inclusion into the community and then into schools.
Creation of Group Model Discussion To Implement Into Camps With Special Need Centers
After the success of CBSD, a group model discussion employed by researchers with the JRS, the UNHCR and Global Campaign for Education plan to support this model of discussion in order to better understand the relationships between community, humanitarian organizations, parents, and most importantly the child and the reality of the current situation in African Refugee Camps (Werner).Of course, the eventual goal is to provide inclusive education for these children due to the potential of great academic and socio-economic outcomes. However, attention must be given to the perspectives of communities and how they define and perceive inclusion. Using the group model discussion, researchers can better understand the unique situation of the refugee camps. Instead of using an outside approach to pursuing inclusion for these children, valuing and understanding the cultural system allows researchers and organizations to help implement a system of inclusive education for the entire community.
To change the negative stigma surrounding the children, these discussions gives light to the possibilities of success in the inclusion of these children into the community and schools. Furthermore, the funding will be used to support parental care including support groups, the provision of basic supplies like school kits or assistive devices, and job training or financial help for caregivers.
Recommendations:
In conjunction with the research and understanding of communities in research camps, UNHCR will also recommend African countries to acknowledge the current situation refugee children with disabilities are lost in. Reliable data with the promises to uphold legislation and international standards will help support the children in receiving education. Combined with these studies, a more promising reality for these children and communities lie in wait.UNCHR and the Global Campaign for Education ask for your help in donations. Both organizations have already pledged to match all donations in the road to include African refugee children with disabilties in education.
Sources --
ACPF (2014). The African Report on Children with Disabilities: Promising starts and persisting challenges. Addis Ababa. The African Child Policy Forum (ACPF).Werner, K., St. Arnold, G. & Crea, T.M. Using a community-based system dynamics approach for understanding inclusion and wellbeing: a case study of special needs education in an eastern African refugee camp. Confl Health 15, 58 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13031-021-00390-5
UNHCR https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/09/1099242
