First Observations

After a week of beating jet lag and getting back into my normal routine, I finally have the time to post about my findings during my AWESOME trip to Tanzania!

On our first day, we had a "Survival Swahili" course. Our teacher Francis was excellent. He was patient with our butchered pronunciation, and while a week later I can only remember "asante" (thank you) and "habari" (a common greeting), I learned a lot during that lesson.

Afterwards, I had the opportunity to sit down with him to talk some more. Francis is a teacher at a Christian School in Tanzania, so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to find out about students with disabilities. He said that very few students in his school had disabilities. One student that came to mind was a boy with albinism. While one may not think that albinism is a disability, it can have an impact on the student's vision. Due to this, it is often hard for the student to stay concentrated. Despite these difficulties, this student is still in the mainstream classroom with some adaptations.

Francis thinks there are a few reasons that so few students with disabilities are attending school. The first is the stigma that surrounds people with disabilities. Many families are ashamed to have a child with a disability, and don't want them to go to school for that reason. Also, there are so few teachers that are trained to work with children with disabilities. While it can sometimes be hard enough to find teachers for a general education classroom, it can be even more difficult to find teachers that specialize with students with various disabilities.

I did learn that there is a woman in a town outside of Moshi that runs a home specifically for children with disabilities. While I wasn't able to get her information, I'm glad that there are people like this woman who are willing to give these children a chance.

That's all for today! I'll be back soon with more information from my trip.

-Lindsay

My professor snapped a photo of me and Francis

Photos from Istanbul Airport

Bathroom clearly not disability accessible

People with disabilities were able to board the plane first

We made it!

16 hours of flying later, my group and I have officially made it to Tanzania. We're staying at a Bed and Breakfast called "The Hibiscus," in a town called Moshi, and we're already in love with it.

We had a short layover in Istanbul, Turkey. In the time we were there, I was able to do some observations of accessibility in the airport. I saw dozens of workers driving what looks to be a power wheelchair for passengers with a disability or were elderly. Also, in one of the bathrooms, there was a sign for people with disabilities to wait in a spot to receive assistance. I'm assuming this is because bathrooms were not big enough to fit a wheel chair. While I think it's great that people with disabilities have an option of receiving help in the bathroom, it is taking away their independence.

Keep in mind, I was only in the airport for a short time, so there could be other accessibility features I missed. I'll be keeping my eye out for them when I get back!

Well, it's almost 4:00 am in Tanzania, so I should probably try to get some sleep. Can't wait to spend my first official day here!

Much love,
Lindsay

P.S. I'll post photos of what I'm talking about once I figure out how to!

Off to Tanzania!

"You're off to great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so...get on your way!" -Dr. Seuss

After months of planning and lots of excitement, I finally leave for Tanzania! I am so thrilled to get the opportunity to embrace an entirely new culture in a continent I've never been to.

As promised, I did a little research on disabilities in Tanzania. According to a website I found, 3.5 million people in Tanzania are living with a disability. The WHO did a survey on 51 countries, including Tanzania, and found that only 51% of boys and 42% of girls with disabilities will complete their primary education. This makes it very difficult for children with disabilities to gain the social and academic skills they need in order to be an active member of society. Due to this, people with disabilities face great discrimination in the work place, and are often looked down upon.

I'll be continuing my research during my trip and will try to see the perception of disabilities in Tanzania first hand. I'll try my best to post while on my trip, but due to limited WiFi, it may be difficult. If I don't post within the next two weeks, expected a lot of posts once I get back!

Bon voyage!
Lindsay

P.S. Here is the website to the information I got!
http://www.ccbrt.or.tz/disability/

Hey everyone!

My name is Lindsay, and I am a junior at the University of Maine at Farmington. I am studying Special Education with a minor in International and Global Studies. Although I'm not sure what my path will be after college, I'm hoping to do something related to bringing awareness to the treatment of people with disabilities in other countries.

I am VERY fortunate to have so many travel opportunities this year, where I will be able to study the perception of disabilities in other countries first hand. My first stop this year will be Tanzania from June 19th - July 3, 2016, and then Ireland this Fall. With these trips, and hopefully more in the future, I will be conducting a research project on how the perception of disabilities varies by country, location, culture, etc. I will be posting my findings on here!

If you are interested in learning more about the perception of disabilities in the locations I am visiting, I would love for you to follow my blog! That being said, if you are a family member looking to follow me on my adventures this year, I'd love for you to follow my blog as well.

That's all for now! I'm going to start my research on disabilities in Tanzania before I leave, so stay tuned for another post!

Peace, love, and other stuff,
Lindsay