Education is the key

Education is a universal basic right of every child

The Center has three goals: Education, Integration/Inclusion and Rehabilitation of the children and youth with a special physical need for support.

According to the United Nations Human Development Index, Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, ranks among the last third of the world, at position 152 out of 188. Approximately 25 million people with a special need for support live in Nigeria, 3.6 million with grave disabilities. Despite the huge numbers of people with a special need for support, there is virtually no public respect for them or recognition of their special situation and thence no state provisions for their social integration and inclusion in Nigeria.

Most young people with special physical need for support have no access whatsoever to education or training, because their families either cannot afford it financially, or they simply prefer to invest any savings they might have in the education of those of their children needing no special support. Many parents see no hope for a productive future of their child with a special physical need for support, which would then justify the financial costs of their education or training. Society, too, has no place in its school system and educational facilities for persons with a special physical need for support. The few families with such children who can afford a primary school education for them find no opportunities for their child's further schooling. The situation severely hinders the social integration and inclusion of people with special physical need for support in Nigeria.

The Project therefore strives to:

1. contribute in closing this gap,
2. offer education and training geared to the special needs of young people with a special physical need for support,
3. offer an inclusive secondary school program and a school environment for young people with and without a special physical need for support, which will further the integration of those with a special physical need for support in society.

Children and young people without any previous school experience attend a basic course in "Reading, Writing and Arithmetic" before joining a training program.