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'From outside the borders of Africa, the topic of international development often focuses on what we, as external influencers are doing to solve long-standing issues overseas and our media shades Africa with a tone of dependence…but if you have spent time in Africa, and seen through a different filter, you see incredibly bright and motivated people who know their communities better than any foreigner, and are already working on their own community driven initiatives'. - Matt Bautista. (Full article available here).
These words, from Matt Bautista in support of Mama Hope, capture the sentiment of the closing remarks of the SNAP (Special Needs Awareness Programme) survey debriefing. Addressing the room full of bright, motivated ATE consultants and SNAP Committee members from the Lawra community, Habib Albeboure, said that the goal of SNAP, to improve the lives of disabled children and their families and end discrimination, 'is not about what is coming from outside, it our work to do and we must do it well'.
This was a meeting reflecting on our activities of the day before; delivering the SNAP survey to parents of disabled children. There was a real sense of achievement, praise for the participation of the parents and gratitude for the understanding gained from listening to what they had to say. For a number of the consultants, it had been their first time ever interacting with disabled children.
The consultants really spoke from the heart. Karlley, ATE's most senior consultant, commented warmly on how wonderful it was to see the children interacting with each other. A number said they gained a different mind-set, perception and feelings about people with such challenges and had deepened their understanding about their needs. As Rena put it, it was interactive but emotional too, as the consultants empathised with the parents who opened up to them about their daily lives and experiences. Kuu-im spoke passionately about each of the consultants now taking on the goal to end discrimination and make a personal stand as ambassadors for change.
The SNAP Committee members present spoke both as advocates of their SNAP members but also from their personal perspective as parents of disabled children and participants in the survey. John Gandaa, pictured here leaving the meeting on his bicycle, is a quiet and earnest man. He has been a part of SNAP from the very beginning, for a long time he was notably the only father involved and is the one who registers everyone as they arrive for monthly SNAP meetings. In his reflection on the survey he said that he was asked questions he never thought he would be asked and for the first time told the whole story about his daughter, Belinda.
The room was brimming with ideas as the group discussed the impact SNAP is having and made suggestions for improvements to the programme. Margaret outlined suggestions from the SNAP parents' themselves, and added greater understanding to the lived-experiences behind the suggestions they put forward.
All in all, it has been a joy to see and hear the programme being discussed, evaluated and developed in this way; by bright, motivated people working on this community-driven initiative!
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