Dyslexia children find haven in Munyonyo

After years of struggling to speak, Musa Njuki is finally learning how to read. But this milestone never came automatically for him. The 12-year-old primary school pupil of Rise and Shine Dyslexic Organization (RASDO) in Munyonyo is one of the best athletes the institution boasts of.

During last term’s sports day, he emerged the second in the whole school in the running event.

Before getting help, Njuki used to dread the time when teachers said he had to write or spell words. The firstborn of three, he grew up with a speech disorder that limited his words. He hardly spoke.

“I had a hard time in my former school because I could hardly speak with other children and whenever I would fail the exams, I was beaten,” Njuki, a former pupil at Lungujja Infant School chokes out. 

Njuki at the Centre

Luckily, a teacher at his former school noticed his problem and recommended he joins the Munyonyo centre. His parents agreed and he enrolled this year.

“The teachers here are patient with me and slowly, I am beginning to learn how to talk, read and spell…I love Science,” the soft spoken, small-bodied, primary five pupil says.

He looks forward to becoming a pilot in future.

With an ever increasing emphasis on education and literacy, more and more children like Njuki are finding themselves in need of help in learning to read, spell and write.

 One particularly damaging general misunderstanding of the condition is the belief that children who suffer from dyslexia possess diminished academic potential, says Jesca Nakibirango, the executive director, RASDO.

She says dyslexia is a neuro-developmental disability where a child experiences difficulty in reading and writing, and not a thinking disability.

“Dyslexic children usually have mirror-writing problem in which, for example, they substitute the number 9 for letter P, mispronounce words, have ineligible handwriting and have difficulty in coping with work on the chalkboard,” Nakibirango explains.

Children will also produce incomplete work because of the difficulty in reading, they read haltingly, word by word, and may have difficulty in buttoning their clothes or tying up their shoelaces, when younger.

However, children afflicted with the condition may possess extraordinary talent. For example Fred Kizza, 16 employs excellent leadership skills that go a long way in disguising his condition. 

Fred Kizza tries to write what is teacher has written on the chalk board

Teacher Nakibirango (c) leads Kizza (L) and Njuki (R) through a Maths lesson using rubber cuttings

Kizza, a P.6 pupil, is currently the head boy at Munyonyo primary school, a government school affiliated to RASDO. He also presides over the school’s peace court where he arbitrates cases of conflicting and undisciplined pupils.

But these aside, Kizza knows that he has trouble spelling and pronouncing words. He is however hopeful that if others can, then he can, something that is in keeping with the organization’s ideals.

Internationally, actor Tom Cruise, legendary artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci and inventor Graham Bell all suffered from dyslexia, the learning disability that is supposedly the most common.

Tragically, however, the public knows too little about the condition and therefore too few children get identified early enough while many more do not get identified at all.

“There is inadequate knowledge, a hurdle that presents itself right from the parent and teacher level. Many private schools turn away such children while others are forced to repeat classes over and over. Some end up being abused and beaten by their parents when they do not perform to their expectation,” says Richard Semanda, the chairman of RASDO.

DYSLEXIA EFFECTS

MedicineNet, an online medical dictionary, defines dyslexia as a specific reading disability due to a defect in the brain’s processing of graphic materials.

The dictionary notes that children with dyslexia have impairment with the visual and auditory system and this makes it important to use touch and movement during teaching.

“Afflicted children may have problems related to concentration, for example daydreaming, getting lost easily and losing track of time,” the dictionary reads.

Such children also get frustrated about reading and testing and may experience difficulty in expressing themselves clearly and understanding what others mean when they speak.

Esther Nakaita, a P.5 pupil at Munyonyo primary, says she usually finishes a two hour exam within 30 minutes because of the difficulty that comes with reading and comprehending the questions. 

Nakibirango attributes dyslexia to poor nutrition during pregnancy, breech birth (birth of a baby in which the baby exits the pelvis with the buttocks or feet first as opposed to the normal head-first) and is a condition that may manifest itself in left handed children. She recently presented a paper on how to handle dyslexic children at the 10th conference in Language and Development in South Africa that was sponsored by the British Council.

A NEW WAY TO LEARN

According to the International Dyslexia Association (IDA), multisensory teaching is an effective approach to teaching children with dyslexia. In traditional teaching, students typically use two senses: sight and hearing. Learners see words when reading and they hear the teacher speaking. But children with dyslexia may have problems processing visual and auditory information.

“By including more of the senses, making lessons come alive by incorporating touch, smell and taste into their lessons, teachers can reach more students and help those with dyslexia learn and retain information,” the article on the IDA website reads.

ILLUSTRATIONS

By using letter diagrams of items shaped out of plastic, rubber, wood and  cardboard box material, Nakibirango says it enables the children keep a mental picture of the words in their heads.

For Maths, using beans for counting, blocks, cutting shapes for fractions and measuring liquids is helpful.

“To improve comprehension, talk to the children about trips, adventures and activities and encourage them to visualise the picture. Illustrate it; write a sentence about it, dictated by the child. Make a mind map or concept map about it for older children,” writes Dr Gloria Thomas on the lrien Dyslexia Centre website.

She adds that in order to improve oral language processing, one should play games, such as giving the child two or three short sentences, the aim being that the child should put them together into a sentence. Then the child could give you three sentences and learn how you string them into one.

RASDO CHANGING LIVES

Located a few hundred meters away from the Munyonyo-Salaama main road, RASDO stands out as a lone building. Its quiet environs, save for the chirping of birds and the blowing of soft winds, makes it appear desolate.

However, it is here that two special-needs teachers, Nakibirango and Semanda, are trying to turn around the fortunes of 15 dyslexic pupils − five whom are enrolled for fulltime learning at the centre while 10 are enrolled at Munyonyo primary school.

RASDO was established in March 2003 as a community-based organization with a mission of creating a centre that would handle learners with specific learning difficulties.

Its vision is to eventually integrate dyslexic children within schools and communities so that they can fully participate in activities with the other children and its key objective is to create more awareness of learning disabilities.

The organization handles three categories of learners: dyslexic, those with general intellectual disabilities, such as slow learners, and those with cognitive dysfunctions.

Because of the difficulties they experience in coping with academics, the children are sometimes referred to as ‘bimwongwa’- dull, ‘basilu’or ‘bifanta’- stupid, by their age mates, or even parents.

The writing on the wall

Semanda says teachers should learn to be patient with each child and must have the children’s success at heart.

“We use an individualized approach to teach the students so that we can repeat, over and over again, a concept they have not grasped, unlike in ordinary schools,” Semanda says.

In 2010, one of their pupils scored 19 aggregates in the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) and is currently pursuing a course in carpentry in a technical school. Last year, another sat for the same exams, but orally, and excelled, achieving aggregate 25. These are some of the milestones the organization has notched since its inception.

To raise income, the school charges every pupil Shs 250,000 per term.

Semanda appeals to government to train and recruit more special-needs teachers on top of motivating them with better pay and work incentives, such as bursaries.

In Uganda, Kyambogo University is the only institute of higher learning mandated to train instructors in special needs education. It offers a two year Diploma and Bachelor of Education in Special Needs Education.

RASDO is considering expansion of its services to include practical skills, such as sewing and weaving.

“Anyone who can make an offer to this cause is welcome,” Semanda says.

Regardless of the stigma attached to the condition, one fact will always stand out; dyslexics are not about to give up and have set out to be lifelong learners.

Nitumwesiga: don’t act if you don’t love it

Patience Nitumwesiga remembers her turning point just like it was yesterday. All through her primary and ordinary level studies, she fantasised about being a prominent figure. Her father, however, wanted her to become a lawyer.

Eventually, Nitumwesiga chose neither. She became a playwright, director and actress, thanks to a career talk she received in her A-level at Kyeizoba Girls Secondary School in Bushenyi.

“During one the career days at school, there was a gentleman from the department of performing arts that talked about studying drama. He made me realise that drama is just more than acting and it is much more like human psychology at a more creative level,” the light-skinned, small-bodied belle says. 

This imagination ran away with her to the extent that she applied for Theatre Studies at Makerere University as her first choice. Luckily, she was admitted for the course on government sponsorship in 2007.

She has not looked back.

In 2010, she joined Rafiki, a registered non profit making organization that uses participatory theatre to promote non-violence, human rights and sustainable development in East Africa.

Here, she wrote plays and poems, acted in, and created music for over 100 plays. Some of the remarkable plays include Makka Nyumbani, where she acted as a rebellious housewife who wanted to break free from gender inequalities and submersion but was held back by a rigid society. 

Nitumwesiga during the Makka Nyumbani play

More recently, she played a lead role in the first broad way musical, ‘Mango Roses’ as a pregnant woman forced to leave her home because she has a child out of wedlock.

The ritual of engaging her passion has enabled her to develop a thick skin towards the art of creation that she is now thinking about directing her own play. 

Nitumwesiga during Mango Roses

“Everyone thinks that when you are a girl, you have to act only. I only act as an expression. But I am looking forward to contributing to the artistic state of Uganda intellectually, creatively through play-writing and directing,” she enthuses, adding that all her savings are to be invested in developing the arts.

Nitumwesiga, however, does not recommend acting for those without the passion.

“One has to live with the consequences thereafter, and it is not very paying in Uganda. I am struggling with it myself but still learning a lot about it,” she says.

WITTY SIDE:

If you could try out a job for a day, what would you like to try?

Editing videos. I always get amazed at how much editors can do just by themselves. They need only material and a computer.

If someone was to make a movie about you, who would you want to play you and what title would best depict the story of your life?

The title would be ‘Nitumwesiga’ because my name is a statement-‘we trust Him/God’ and I love it. I would love to be played by Jada Pinkett, Will Smith’s wife. She is one of the most beautiful women I know and a very good actor.

What kind of music are you into?

I love African contemporary like that of Eric Manana, an acoustic guitarist, singer and songwriter from Madagascar. I also love band music and occasionally go to watch and listen to Qwela Band.

What is your favourite joke?

There is a movie, ‘Arabian Nights’ where a Sultan played a very sick joke on a begger. He gave the begger a sedative, and in the sleep state, he was taken and groomed. When he woke up the next day, he was the sultan and couldn’t believe it. Everyone was told to treat him as the sultan and I thought, ‘If I would be president just for one day…’

Also, in the play, ‘Waiting for Godot’, there are two men saying ‘we have to go now’ and none dared move an inch.

If you could marry a cartoon character, who would you want it to be and why?

Alladin. He is one of the characters that are rogues on the outside but are deep on the inside. I like people who are not so obvious to read.

If you were on death row, what would be your last meal?

Fried chicken

What have you faked about being sick so you wouldn’t have to go to?

Hmm its terrible… There was this guy I was comfortable with at the beginning but as we kept communicating, I realised that I didn’t want to go and said I wasn’t feeling well.

What is the first thought you had this morning?

‘How is this day going to be?’ This is because I had a busy weekend.

U.S. issues redesigned $100 note

The United States Federal Reserve Board has begun supplying financial institutions with a redesigned $100 note that incorporates new security features to deter counterfeiters.

Benjamin Franklin’s image on the $100 note stays the same, but other measures taken in the redesign will make verification easier and counterfeiting tougher.

The redesigned $100 note includes two new security features: a blue 3-D security ribbon with images of bells and 100s. It also has a color-changing bell in an inkwell.
The new features, and additional features retained from the previous design such as a watermark offer the public a simple way to visually authenticate the redesigned $100 note.
In addition, the 100 number in the bottom right-hand corner shifts from copper to green.

“The new design incorporates security features that make it easier to authenticate, but harder to replicate,” said Federal Reserve Board Governor Jerome H. Powell in a press statement.
He added that as the new note transitions into daily transactions, the user-friendly security features will allow the public to more easily verify its authenticity.”
Distance, demand, and the policies of individual financial institutions will influence how quickly the redesigned notes reach businesses and consumers around the world.
Consumers worldwide are advised that it is not necessary to trade in older-design $100 notes for new ones. It is U.S. government policy that all designs of U.S. currency remain legal tender, regardless of when they were issued.

HIV stigma still big problem, says report

Last year, a primary school teacher in Masaka, Florence Najjumba, lost her job after she declared that she was HIV-positive. Had the media and Uganda Human Rights Commission not intervened, Najjumba would have lost her livelihood.

Yet she is only one of the luckier ones. According to the People Living with HIV Stigma Index, 2013, most HIV-positive people are still discriminated against at work.

The study, released last week by the National Forum of People Living with HIV Networks in Uganda (NAFOPHANU), surveyed 1,110 people living with HIV.

“[Some] 255 of the people living with HIV reported losing jobs or incomes within the past year preceding the survey and 27 percent of these attributed it to [their] HIV status,” reads the study report.

Among those that reported losing their jobs, more than half were men. Some 288 reported that their job descriptions had changed due to a combination of factors, including poor health. 

Some were discriminated against at work by either co-workers or employers. Eight percent of the respondents reported that they had been barred from work in the previous 12 months.

Supported by UNAIDS and Uganda Aids Commission, NAFOPHANU conducted the survey in 18 districts.

“This stigma prevents people from getting tested for HIV, seeking medical care and adherence to treatment and follow up. A biased attitude towards people living with HIV must be stopped,” said Stella Kentusi, NAFOPHANU executive director.

Consequently, the study states that income levels among people living with HIV are relatively low, with 60 percent of those surveyed earning less than Shs 250,000 every month.

HOME, WORK

Gossiping, according to the survey, was the most prevalent form of stigma, with 60 percent (666) of people living with HIV, convinced that they had been gossiped about at least once within the last year. 

Also, nearly one in five of the surveyed people said they had been subjected to psychological pressure or manipulation by their husband or wife at least once.

Some 21 percent said they had experienced sexual rejection at least once in the last 12 months before the survey. About 10 percent had been excluded from family activities such as eating together or sharing rooms.

The study suggests fear of stigma and discrimination are major reasons why people are unlikely to declare their status in public, let alone taking an HIV test.

“This means that disclosure is done selectively or not done at all. People are not free to seek and take up treatment,” Kentusi says, adding that victims of stigma soon develop internal stigma – negative feelings about oneself.

UNAIDS Country Director Musa Bungudu says to reduce such stigma and discrimination, people living with HIV should enjoy economic empowerment and receive updated education about HIV.

Bungudu proposes “a cascade of training of trainers workshops” not only to address attitudes and practices but also to meet information needs and HIV related supplies.

On his part, the acting programme manager, Aids Control Programme, Dr Joshua Musinguzi, wants more resources dedicated towards access to anti-retroviral drugs for all HIV positive people.

Today, 566,000 people have access to ARVs out of the 745,000 expected to be put on treatment by the end of this year.

“We need to disseminate the findings to the lowest level so that the health ministry and stakeholders may roll out programmes, reducing new infections and fighting for the rights of people living with HIV effectively, efficiently and transparently,” Musinguzi says.