Education for all: Rogette’s journey towards inclusion, a schoolgirl with hearing loss

Senegal is committed to education for all. To support this initiative, Humanity & Inclusion (HI) has been supporting the introduction and roll-out of school support workers in twelve schools in Dakar and Ziguinchor since 2016. These support workers provide individual support to deaf and hard-of-hearing pupils like Rogette, enabling them to study in an environment adapted to their needs.

Moving house to be able to go to school

Rogette Coly was born and raised in Effoc, a town situated some fifty kilometres from Ziguinchor, in southern Senegal. From her earliest months, her parents realised she was having difficulty hearing: the little girl is hard of hearing in one ear and deaf in the other. To communicate with her, her family use their mother tongue and the local sign language.

At the age of nine, Rogette moved to live with her aunt in Ziguinchor. Her parents, keen to give her the best possible future, had done everything they could to enrol her at the El Hadj Omar Ndiaye School, which offers specialised support for deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

“Rogette is my sister’s daughter. She’s been living with me for three years and I can see she’s making good progress at school. Her teachers tell me about her hard work and her excellent results, so I encourage her and praise her,” says Sabine Coly, Rogette’s aunt.

Providing individual support for deaf children

Rogette is in Year 4. Thanks to her teacher, she has learnt the basics of the conventional sign language used in class. To consolidate what she has learnt and support her academic success, Rogette also receives support from Joséphine Malou, a teaching assistant recruited at El Hadj Omar Ndiaye School as part of HI’s inclusive education project. Joséphine provides personalised support to Rogette by helping her to understand lessons, complete exercises and take part in classroom activities; she is the one who ensures that all the necessary conditions are in place to enable Rogette to learn. She explains:

“My job is to help the child flourish, whether at school, within the family or in society, so that she can be included. It is essential that deaf children go to school so that they can enjoy the same opportunities as everyone else. I love this job because I love spending time with children. When you’re with them, they tell you stories, we have a laugh, we chat and we forget our problems.”

During their first meeting, Joséphine focuses on an initial assessment of Rogette’s skills and needs: can she sign, count and hold a conversation? How does she behave in class, and how does she get on with her classmates? These initial discussions enable her to tailor her support to best meet the young girl’s needs.

The school of social skills

Going to school and forming bonds with other children has also helped Rogette to manage her emotions and frustrations. “At first, she would get angry easily and sometimes had conflicts with her classmates,” recalls her teacher. “Now, her behaviour has improved a great deal. She is calmer, participates more in class and interacts more calmly with others.”

“Since she started school, Rogette has been able to concentrate better. She is brave and very hard-working; even when she’s ill, she insists on going to class. Most of the time, she’s a cheerful young girl who loves meeting up with her friends in the afternoon to play with them. We get on very well together,” smiles Sabine.

Rogette participates actively in class and gets excellent marks in maths. Her two teachers are proud of her and confident about her future.

For eight years, HI’s inclusive education project has mobilised civil society organisations, education authorities and focal points from various departments within the Ministry of National Education to support children excluded from the education system in Senegal, Togo and Madagascar. It has enabled the introduction of school support workers, itinerant teachers and integrated ‘bridge’ classes. More than 10,000 people have benefited from this programme, including nearly half of whom are girls. The project has fostered the socialisation and independence of young people, helped those around them to better understand their disabilities, and also strengthened teachers’ capacities whilst adapting training structures and tools. Finally, it has helped to instil a vision: that of an education system where no one is left behind.