Community-Based Education for Students with Developmental Disabilities in Tanzania

Based on a yearlong ethnographic study, this book describes the daily life and work of the Irente Rainbow School, a special education school for students with developmental disabilities in Lushoto, Tanzania. It examines the use of local context, community funds of knowledge, culturally relevant pedagogy, and community support to teach students with disabilities important life skills, independence, self-advocacy and to fight for their human rights. This book offers several lessons for different audiences; it is a primer on disability and education in a rural African town, an alternative model for non-governmental agencies to consider in designing community-based and community-engaged programs, and a story about an exceptional group of teachers, students and families who took action to provide an education and a realization of rights for children with disabilities.