Aksheyaa and Kigenyi are both 25. They live in different countries but both faced challenges accessing education when they were younger because of disabilities.
Now, in their roles as Theirworld Global Youth Ambassadors, they’re advocating for inclusive education and showing others what can be done to unlock big change for children with disabilities.
The experiences of Aksheyaa from India and Kigenyi from Uganda feature in two new resource packs launched as part of Theirworld’s successful teaching resources for schools in the United Kingdom.
The new packs are:
- Education Unlocks a More Inclusive World, focusing on disability and inclusion
- Education Unlocks Opportunities for Girls, focusing on girls’ education
They build on our existing teacher resources, which include support for refugees, health and wellbeing, climate action, and skills and employment.
There are two versions of each new pack – for primary school children aged seven to 11 and secondary school students from 11 to 16. They include links to national curriculums for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and also have case studies featuring our Global Youth Ambassadors.
“I have dyslexia and as a child I lived with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder),” said Aksheyaa, who lives in Chennai. “I felt excluded from learning at times. I was made to feel like it was my fault and that I didn’t study hard enough.
“My own experience of the lack of inclusive education for children with learning disabilities in India brought me to start working on this issue. I studied psychology at university and I have a Masters in Human Rights. I am now a special educator, supporting children with learning disabilities.”
