Rahmat Ussene, aged nine, lives in the suburbs of Maputo, Mozambique. She lives with her parents and brothers. She has a motor disability: she can walk, but has trouble running. She also has speech difficulties.
Rahmat loves school
Rahmat is in Year 4 at Benfica Nova primary school - an inclusive school. The little girl loves school and can't wait to go. Even when it is closed, she pesters her father to take her anyway.
Rahmat especially loves reading exercises. In class, she likes to meet up with her friend. "At school, my best friend is called Joana" she explains. " We play together all the time. She helps me in class and goes with me when I have to go to the toilet." Rahmat's passion for school is so strong that she wants to be a teacher when she grows up.
Learning to write with tailored exercises
Because of her disability, Rahmat has speech difficulties. Her teacher, Marta, has been trained by HI teams to use inclusive teaching methods. She accompanies Rahmat every day and provides her with numerous personalised activities, such as exercises for holding a pen. Due to her disability, Rahmat couldn’t learn to write like the other children. Thanks to Marta's exercises, she is gradually learning to use a pen.
“I still have a bit of trouble writing because my hands shake,” she explains. “I often have to rub out words and write them again. My teacher is teaching me to write the date, my first name and the name of the school. But sometimes she asks a lot of me and I don’t really like that.”
With the help of HI, Rahmat receives psychological and pedagogical support through the implementation of educational activities. She will also be receiving speech therapy soon to help her speak more clearly.
Strengthening Rahmat’s autonomy and that of her whole family
Ali Ussene, Rahmat’s father, no longer works. He spends a lot of time looking after his daughter. "Our financial situation is difficult," he explains. "My daughter has many difficulties and special needs, and we have to take good care of her. Now that she can go to school, I have more time to look for a job. For me, it is important for my daughter to be empowered and socially emancipated. School should be inclusive – as should the rest of society!”
