~The beautiful rose that grew from a crack in the concrete~
Disability is not inability!
Step by Step Learning Centre serves over 25 students with various disabilities, ranging from autism, cerebral palsy, Down’s syndrome and other learning and physical difficulties. They provide high quality special education for these students in all stages of their development.
Their mission is to promote the physical, intellectual, psychological, and social development of each child through a wholistic educational provision in an inclusive, empathetic, respectful, and stimulating environment. They use child-centered learning methods to encourage all the children, including those experiencing learning challenges, to reach their maximum potential. They recommend and use state-of-the art interventions to facilitate learning and appropriate development for each child.
Their vision is reflected in their logo. The rose that grew from concrete symbolizes special needs children who are sometimes seen by society as incapable and often have difficult backgrounds. This tough foundation is represented by the crack in the concrete as opposed to fertile soil. Yet, with family support and the nurturing care SSLC strives to provide, they believe these children can conquer their hardships and grow into something beautiful.
Step by Step Learning Centre Staff
William (Driver), Rugathe (Teacher), Godsave (Chairman of Board), Margaret (Founder & Director), Erick (Teacher), Faraja (Accountant), Victor (Teacher), Francis (Teacher)
Educational programs
SSLC offers basic functional literacy and life skills training for students ages 4 to 17. Most of their students come from poor families without the means to pay for the therapy or education that can improve their child’s wellbeing, and if left to fend for themselves in the community, they (especially girls) are at high risk of discrimination, neglect, sexual and physical abuse. The Junior Program has students with varying degrees of physical and mental challenges, including autism, cerebral palsy, learning delays, and Down’s syndrome. Meanwhile, there is a growing list of additional students waiting to enroll. SSLC needs to grow its capacity to take in more students.
The core learning program seamlessly merges into the adult program so that children growing up in the school are able to transition from one program to the other without any adjustment issues.
Physical Therapy Services
SSLC provides students with multiple therapy services. These include: Physiotherapy, Reflexology, Speech Therapy & Sign Language, Gross & Fine Motor Skill Exercises, and Music Therapy.
Economic Empowerment for older students
SSLC’s young adults (18 years old and older) receive training in Employment/Job Skills in a variety of Income Generating Projects (IGPs). Besides teaching work skills to enhance the students’ employability, the adult program also focuses on teaching age/gender-appropriate life skills such as; sexual and reproductive health rights and responsibility, self-care, and defense against abuse.
SSLC’s Adult Program includes adult students, most of them graduates from the Junior Program, living with autism, cerebral palsy, Down’s syndrome, learning delays, albinism, and Pfeiffer’s type I syndrome. They are learning job/employment skills on the job through the Income Generating Projects (IGPs). The IGPs are developed on the school premises so that adult students can safely engage in producing and selling products to generate revenue which, supplemented by grants, can give them an income. These IGPs include livestock keeping of sheep, chicken, fish, bees and ducks; fruit and vegetable farming; and jewelry making using beads. These activities have been our most effective advocacy demonstrating that disability is not inability. They also enhance the students’ independence and value to their families, thus reducing the stigmatization and rejection that most of them experience.
Advocacy & COmmunity Awareness Events
SSLC hosts and participates in various community awareness events, allowing the community to witness the impact the school is making in the lives of the children they serve, as well as draw attention to the fact that all people are created in the Image of God. Events have included the celebration of International Down’s Syndrome Day (March 21), International Day of Autism Awareness (April 2), and International Day of People with Disabilities (December 3).
On April 6th 2019 SSLC was proud to once again celebrate the International Day for Autism Awareness and participate in a march with allies and supporters from all over Tanzania. See some wonderful photos from that event in the slideshow at the bottom of this page!
"Today is International Day for Autism. We marched from Clocktower to Nyerere Declaration Museum! Unbelievable, over 300 special needs students now attend school. There is even a Kiswahili word for Autism (Usonji). We have come a long way!" ~Margaret Kenyi, Founder/Director SSLC
These activities and events raise public awareness and show that those living with disabilities deserve the same respect and dignity given to all other segments of society.
Theology of Disability WOrkshops
In collaboration with AHI, SSLC offers Theology of Disability (ToD) workshops biannually for parents, teachers, church and community leaders. This workshop is a paradigm-shifting process and tool to facilitate the evaluation of personal thoughts, attitudes, and actions one has toward people living with disabilities. In many parts of the world, people with disabilities are often marginalized, neglected, abused, ostracized, and even killed. This workshop challenges people to recognize the value, dignity, and purpose of people with disabilities in their own community.
