Education and cultural learning

It was in the Winter of 2024, but it was Summer on the other side of the world. I had the privilege of joining the team of students from HVL and HiM in the NOREC exchange program with other HiM teachers.

My name is Veila, and I was in an exchange program as a teacher presenting HVL. One week in Arusha went very fast, and we departed for Nairobi and Dar es Salaam for the rest of our time before the crew returned home to Norway in April. There were many events, and below, I present a few thoughts.

Being in the NOREC project has opened my third eye to be close and understanding the situation and challenges of children with disabilities in Tanzania. I have a background from Tanzania that made communication, logistics, and hosting easier. A Tanzanian intuition merged with an experience from living, studying, and working in Norway facilitated the participants' roles.

In line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which the Norwegian government aims to incorporate into national jurisdiction, the Tanzanian National Policy on Disability encourages teaching and skills training for persons with disabilities in settings with diverse abilities or "disabilities."

As a teacher, I had a great opportunity to get to know the teachers and children at Uhuru Primary School. I also worked as a translator on a few occasions, both for students from Norway and teachers.

It felt good to educate the mothers of the children at Uhuru about general and mental health. Not only that, but the women felt comfortable sharing their experiences with us and created better knowledge for the well-being of the children. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN CRPD protect the rights of children with disabilities and have been ratified in Tanzania and Norway. Still, children with disabilities have fewer opportunities than children without disabilities. I am proud to participate as a change agent to improve the quality of life for children with disabilities in Norway and Tanzania. I think such an agency is successful when children become aware of their rights, duties, and potential. It takes "a village to raise a child", but it takes more than a convention to change cultural assumptions and practices.

As a local host, I had the opportunity to invite students and teachers to my house at Mbweni, Dar. Exchanging ideas and discussing matters made my experience beneficial professionally and personally. In Norwegian, "lære" means teaching and learning, concisely describing my participation. To give and take lessons drives projects such as this one forward.