Help me help myself

'Help me help myself.' That is the motto of the Eldoret Special School for the intellectually challenged. And you can tell that the teachers have made this motto their goal.

On Wednesday, I was at the school for the whole day for the first time. I arrived during the first short break and immediately had everyone's attention in the schoolyard.

In the next two hours, I had the opportunity to observe in the 'Autistic A' class. The timetable said 'ADL' (activities of daily living). Here, the teachers teach the children practical life skills. On Wednesday, they were taught how to wash their hands. In the next two days, they taught things like how to brush and take care of their shoes in other classes.

I observed during the Kiswahili lesson with the oldest students and learned a few greetings. The so-called Pre-Vocational class is where the children are prepared for life after school. Tablets are also used in this class, as the teacher told me. I hope I get the chance to see this in action next week.

My first impression of how the teachers interact with the children is generally positive. They try to address each child individually as best as they can, and the teachers know that each child has their own pace of development. However, I noticed that there are not the same opportunities for support here as in Germany. I have heard teachers say about individual children multiple times that they do nothing. These children are then simply left sitting.

I really like the sports program, where the children prepare for a sports meeting with other schools for disabled children in the afternoons. These meetings even go as far as a national meeting of all special schools in Kenya.

Tomorrow, Steve, the school's treasurer, will show me around and do some sightseeing. He wants to show me the Eldoret area in more detail. My report will probably follow at the end of the weekend on Sunday.