World Vision Eswatini Empowers Children with Disabilities through Desk Donation at St. Joseph’s Primary School to Improve Learning Environmentol to Improve Learning Environment

Aimed at ensuring that every child enjoys quality education, including those living with disabilities, World Vision Eswatini donated 70 desks (attached to chairs) to St Joseph’s Primary School on 14 July 2023.

This benefaction is part of a Disability Project that is mobilised by World Vision Eswatini, funded by World Vision Austria and UNICEF, which is set to help five (5) schools focusing on children with special needs in Eswatini. These five schools are Eqinisweni Primary and High Schools, Siteki School for the Deaf, Gamula High School, and St Joseph’s School.

The project, funded to the tune of $80,000.00 (over E1.2 million) runs from June 1, 2023, to January 31, 2025, and aims to help 70 in-school children and youth with disabilities and 25 out-of-school youth with disabilities.

St Joseph’s Primary is a special needs school located in the Mafutseni community, with an enrolment of 560 learners and, according to Principal Wilfred Cindzi, needs a lot of assistance in order to improve as a school.

“We’re really grateful to World Vision for remembering us as St Joseph’s Primary because we are a school which really is need of a lot of things. We do not even have electricity in this school and our buildings are ancient”, he said.

World Vision Eswatini’s Operations Director, Banele Nkambule, echoed on the fact that all children should enjoy development, including children with special needs.

“We are constantly challenged to do more in the area of ensuring equitable access to education and services for children with disability, as well as their livelihood development. More often than not, people with disability, including children, are left behind in development. Those who break forth, in spite of the challenges they face, are very few”, he explained.

Fikile Shongwe from Manzini Regional Education Office further expressed gratitude towards the altruistic efforts that NGOs in the country, including World Vision Eswatini, are arraying in helping the government of Eswatini improve the lives of children in the country.

“We are grateful for having partners like World Vision because they reach out to the most vulnerable places where the government cannot stretch its budget to. More than anything, we are grateful for this marriage you have entered in on issues of disabilities”, she said.

During this handover, Siphesihle Masuku, a learner from this Primary, could not contain her excitement as she joined the briefing the officials had and sat in one of the new desks. An act of pure joy!