Wow! We are Celebrating the successful completion of the Campaign "Still left behind: Inclusive education for disabled and illiterate girls" with Sofonie Dala

 Congratulations and welcome to our world!

Speech by Global Peace Ambassador Sofonie Dala on the occasion of celebration of the successful completion of Africa Educates Her Campaign Angola - Season 4

02 May 2021, Angola, Luanda city

Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my pleasure and privilege to welcome you here tonight to celebrate the successful completion of this beautiful campaign - "Still left behind: Inclusive education for disabled and illiterate girls" ending today.

Let's start our program with a hot dance.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet our dancers Nicha, Catia and Engracia!

[These teenagers are students of the second level]

Campaign report

It was a fantastic short edition of only 5 series but with a great social impact. Our campaign aims to identify illiterate and girls with disabilities in such a way that it supports building an inclusive society for all.

During this journey, we witnessed chilling stories of girls with serious health and social problems. Some of them are orphans living in extreme poverty and have more than one type of disability, be it learning or physical, including some of them are homeless people.

30% of the girls and women interviewed never had the opportunity to attend school. In the other 70%, the majority stayed in school for less than two years and did not finish pre-class, they dropped out due to learning disabilities and health problems. Only one girl managed to enter high school but dropped out because of the extreme poverty that hit her after her father's death.

Up to 20% of women globally live with a disability. Girls and women of all ages with any form of disability are generally among the most vulnerable and marginalized of society. Moreover, women and girls with disabilities are 2-3 times more likely to be victims of physical and sexual abuse than women without disabilities. In addition “the global literacy rate for adults with disabilities is as low as 3 per cent, and 1 per cent for women with disabilities, according to a 1998 UNDP study” (UN DPI fact sheet).

Having a nice weekend class with children

Unfortunately, some pre-schools in Angola are open air and classes may take place under a tree, so when the weather is bad, classes are cancelled. This is the result of civil war that destroyed and looted many schools.

Globally, 263 million children between the ages of 6 and 17 are out of school, 61 million of which are of primary school age (6-11 years) *. More than half of the total figure live in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia. Girls with disabilities experience attacks and exploitation at much higher rates than other children. Both disability inclusion and gender equality are key factors in achieving including education as both gender and disability are significant factors of exclusion.

22% of the world’s poorest people have a disability. Women and girls with disabilities often face triple discrimination; being female, having a disability and being among the poorest of the poor. Women with disabilities face additional barriers to achieving their sexual and reproductive health rights.

Time to Sing - Faith and Hope

A moving tribute to our amazing gospel singer Filismina. She has been singing for us in many of our programs!

Meet our participants!

“We think the outside world does not really understand what the real difficulty is for women with a disability. This extremely vulnerable group continue to face exclusion from education and risks such as sexual violence - perhaps because they are seen as ‘helpless, asexual, and powerless’.

Therefore, we repeat again and again, for women with disability is really hard to live, so please include them.”

The heroines are here

Tonight, we are presenting a conclusion. If you would like to know more, please click on these links to watch the real and shocking stories of these girls and explore anything that catches your attention.

Webisode 1 - The history of Do Webisode 2 - The history of Lucia Webisode 3 - The history of Celina Webisode 4 - The history of Julia and her mother Webisode 5 - The history of Mima

By addressing the challenges faced by persons with disabilities in low and middle income countries, we not only achieve the human rights of persons with disabilities, but everyone benefits from their contribution.

This is why inclusion, across all development sectors, is important. Empowering persons with disabilities, including women and girls so they can receive a worthwhile education, access health and rehabilitation services, gain a livelihood and participate fully in society, is essential to ending the cycle of poverty and disability.

We sincerely hope that you will find more people to sponsor girls' education today. Your generosity and your gift will help children, adults, and families rise above adversity and thrive. No matter the amount, your donation makes a difference.

Have a great evening!

Thank you very much.

Inclusive education for disabled and illiterate girls - campaign with Sofonie Dala. Penultimate day 5

Our girls back to school campaign is ongoing

The global literacy rate is as low as one per cent for women with disabilities. Being a girl has only made things harder for Mima. She has to fight against various forms of discrimination –being female, having a disability, and being amongst the poorest of the poor. Moreover, she is a double orphan and also lost her siblings.

My deceased parents never vaccinated me, this caused my disability. Reading and writing my name are my biggest school challenges.

Hello!

Hey!

Are you okay?

I'm fine thanks.

What is your name?

My name is Mima.

Do you have a full name?

I do not have. I only have half of my name.

Why don't you have a full name?

Because I didn't live with my mother. I lived my whole life with my father.

Didn't your parents register you with the notary?

No.

Can you share a little about your academic life?

Yes! I can.

Have you ever attended school?

Yea.

When was the first time you went to school?

When I was 7 to 8 years old I studied at preschool. Then my disability got worse, I got sick and had to stop studying.

After staying at home for a long time, I went back to school when I was 14 to 15 years old. I started to study again in preschool.

When was that?

Well, the first time I went to pre-school was in 2007-2008. Second time when I returned to school it was in 2018-2019 here I was already 14-15 years old. Even so, I didn't stay there for long, in the same year my father died and I stopped studying again.

Did your father pass away?

Yes.

Is your mother still alive?

No, she died, too.

Are you a paternal and maternal orphan?

Yes.

Who do you live with?

I live with my grandfather my father's father and my aunts my father's sisters.

How old are you now?

I'm 21 I will turn 22 soon.

Would you like to study again?

Yes I would like.

Are you eager to study?

Yes.

Do you work?

I do not work.

Could you share with us a little of your social life, your disability?

Well, what caused my disability was the fact that my parents never vaccinated me since I was born.

Why did your father and your mother never vaccinate you?

I dont know.

What life did they have? Did they live together? were married?

They lived together but were not married.

How was their relationship?

They lived well but then my mother suddenly abandoned my father and me. I lived with my father only.

Did your father lead a good life?

Yes, but his problem was alcohol. He drank a lot.

Did he have any serious problems with alcohol?

Yes.

Was he a good father to you?

Yes, he was a good father.

How has your social life been? Don't you suffer insults and discrimination?

No no. Nobody abuses me. When I went to school, some classmates abused me but the teachers prevented and sensitized the students to not abuse me, because one day they can also have a disabled daughter. And when I fall down they help me get up.

When you were at school. Have you learned anything?

Yes, I learned numbering, multiplication tables and drawing. Unfortunately I didn't learn to read, make copies and write my name.

Are these one of the biggest challenges of your academic life?

Yes, writing my name, reading and copying are great challenges for me.

Do you have the possibility to learn at home? make copies and proofread your notebooks?

Yes, I review my notebooks

Do you have brothers and sisters?

I do not have. I had two brothers but they also passed away.

Oh, you are an orphan of father and mother and you have lost your brothers.

Are you the only one left in your family's generation?

Yes.

Discrimination, social isolation, illness and abuse are common experiences among women living with disabilities in poverty. Mima lost her blood family, could not continue studying and is unable to access the market, school, or healthcare services.

Orphanhood is an expanding issue that requires the effective involvement of all stakeholders. The orphan situation is more precarious than many vulnerable members of society, because of their exposure to limited social support systems, the inadequate basic social services, lack proper supervision, care, support and guidance at a very crucial time.

Don't miss this opportunity to bring girls back to school. Join us! 

Our campaign aims to identify illiterate and girls with disabilities in such a way that it supports building an inclusive society for all. 

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Thank you for visiting us! Your generosity and your gift will help children, adults, and families rise above adversity and thrive. No matter the amount, your donation makes a difference.