The toughest day at Kabanga was not when I toured the two special education classrooms with the crumbling brick walls and uneven floors, the hole in the roof and the torn cardboard box used as a bulletin board. It was the next day when I realized that these classrooms were in constant use. I looked around that first day at the lack of desks, books, pens, paper, pictures - basically everything you associate with a classroom, and my heart broke for the kids there.
But once again, I am forced to reexamine my perspective. As my friend Diane pointed out to me, "At least these children are in school." She's right. Kids with special needs are marginalized all over the world, and Tanzania is no exception. However, there are teachers at Kabanga who care, and there is a building we can fix up. We have somewhere to start.
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