SECOND NATIONAL DYSLEXIA AWARENESS DAY

Together with other partners including Back Up Uganda, based in Gulu, Kyaninga, based in Fort Portal, Centre for Lifelong Learning, in Wakiso, SQUAMI, NUDIPU and Humanity International among others, HPS will host the above captioned half day event from 9 am – 1:00 pm. The main purpose of the event is to create awareness of Dyslexia in the country, share experiences and get harmonized solutions to tackling it. This will help to unlock and make use of the tremendous talents learning disabled persons possess. The first awareness event was held at Centre to Lifelong Learning in 2023 and it will be held rotationally to maximise outreach and impact.

Dyslexia is a learning disability that affects the development of reading and writing skills and is a relatively unknown condition that is often ignored or mistaken for vision-related or cognitive challenges in Uganda. It affects provision of education, employment, and civic engagement in general. There is a general lack of data on persons with dyslexia in Uganda. Worldwide estimates indicate a dyslexia prevalence of 5-20% in primary schools (A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Brain Science, 2022, 12(2): 240

At the national level, the Uganda government published its Persons with Disability Act in 2020 stating that all persons with disabilities will enjoy their “fundamental and other human rights and freedoms”, directly tied to the Constitution and leaving no one behind.

The choice of Rotary Circles is to use its local and international network, service above self mindset for widespread communication and to build on an already existing relationship. In addition, our school has been pioneering integrated Special Education in Uganda since 1988. During this time we have had a special relationship with Ntinda Metro Rotary Club, our nearest Club which has supported us with Covid related items, rainwater harvesting tanks with a capacity of 21,000 litres and scholastic materials. In turn we have made a presentation on Dyslexia to the Club.

The secondary purpose of the event is to share with our long-term vision including expansion, training or trainers for which we seek a fruitful partnership with Rotary Club.