Joy in learning

by Andrew Stone

IN the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, The Salvation Army is known for its support of communities through food parcels and uniform banks, as well as its work with people experiencing homelessness and with survivors of modern slavery.

Some of this work is replicated in the 131 other countries in which it operates. However, in some of those countries where the state does not provide universal education or healthcare, the church and charity runs schools and hospitals.

Across the world, some half a million children are educated at more than 2,000 Salvation Army schools. Some of those schools specialise in helping pupils with additional needs. One such school is Joytown, in Thika, Kenya, which has nearly 700 students who are living with a range of disabilities.

Children are first offered places from the age of seven at the primary school site, while the secondary school next door takes students from the age of 14.

Joytown offers a full curriculum for its pupils, including maths, sciences and sports. The school also offers tailored instructions and specialised support and resources that the young people need. Students even help to grow and harvest food for the school kitchens.

One of the pupils at Joytown is 17-year-old

Josfridah Mumboa. She says she felt settled after only a few months.

‘I’ve learnt a lot,’ she says. ‘It’s fun, with a lot of activities. Students are really taken care of.’

Josfridah is living with spina bifida. One of the roles of the staff at Joytown is to help the students understand more about their disability and discover what they can and cannot do. Within wider Kenyan society, there can be a significant degree of stigma associated with disability, which Josfridah has experienced.

‘If I tell someone that I’m disabled, they look at me and then they’ll say it’s witchcraft,’ she says. ‘Or they’ll say that my mum is a witch and that’s why she gave birth to a disabled child. That’s what we face out there.’

Receiving such treatment, Josfridah explains, had a direct and detrimental effect on her.

‘Life was difficult. It still is. Ever since I was young, I had this difficulty of really accepting myself. I was bullied. People used to treat me as an odd one out, like an exception, because I was different from them.’

Enrolling at the school improved her life.

‘Before I came to Joytown, I really thought of myself as a burden,’ Josfridah says. ‘But when I came here, I saw kids in wheelchairs and they were really happy. They are being helped in the wheelchair, they can’t walk and they need to be supported to go to the washroom or to clean and they are happy.’

The school has a dedicated team to repair and maintain the pupils’ wheelchairs, and specialist physiotherapy, medical support and a hydrotherapy pool are available.

It is not only the physical wellbeing of the children that is important. Emotional and spiritual wellbeing is at the heart of everything that goes on, and Salvation Army chaplains are on hand for support.

The school wants to help each student thrive and flourish, and Josfridah decided she was going to try to benefit from such support.

‘I engaged myself in different activities, different clubs,’ she says. ‘I tried to associate with people, tried to be social and tried to be me.

‘I want to become a person who can show the world that being disabled doesn’t mean that you can’t do things. Being disabled doesn’t mean that you’re a nobody.’ One part of school life has been particularly beneficial for Josfridah.

‘When I was young I used to love music, but I couldn’t sing in front of people, because I was afraid to be judged,’ she recalls. ‘But when I came here, I gave it a try because I love music so much. It’s where I can lift the weight above my shoulders and become free. The way the notes flow, the highness and the lowness of the pitches mixing together is beautiful. I love music so much.’

Now that Josfridah has discovered a new confidence and has an opportunity to study, she has great hopes and dreams for her future, which she is willing to work towards.

‘I have these high goals I want to achieve,’ she says. ‘I really want to become a doctor, a neurosurgeon.

‘For me to achieve that, I have to work hard. I have to read a lot. Joytown has helped me because I’m opening a new chapter where I can at last write my story in a new way, a positive way.’