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The Educational Assessment and Resource Centre (EARC).

The centre is located on the premises of the Port Reitz School in Mombasa and led by Marieta Mwaluko. Visitors are more than welcome to visit the centre at any time. For more information please contact Marieta Mwaluko by email Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir.  or tel. +254 (0) 722 257 638

Our aim: is to support children with disabilities to access quality services through early identification and referral to the appropriate schools.

Our services:

• To indentify, assess and refer handicapped children for appropriate services.
• To provide counselling and training to parents and families of children with disabilities.
• To promote a right based approach to disability.
• To prepare home/based programmes and support families to implement them in their homes.
• To monitor the progress of children at their homes and at schools.
• To disseminate information on children with severe physical and / or mental limitations.
• To provide advisory services and information on rehabilitation equipment.
• To in-service teachers, education officers, social workers and community health workers in skills to improve teaching and management of children with disabilities.
• To train the community to manage persons who are physically and / or mentally restricted through C.B.R. (Community Based Rehabilitation).
• To support schools to start up special education programs.

Marieta testing Lilian Kuze a girl with microcephalie. She was referred to the centre by Kenya Care. In September 2010 Lilian was admitted at the Port Reitz School.

Our approach:

We work on a team approach basis. There is a close cooperation between the parents, health professionals, special education, social welfare and social services with regard to the assessment and the referral of children with disabilities.

We create public awareness and sensitization programmes through community based rehabilitation. We mobilize and involve communities, parents and family members to identify, refer and manage children with disabilities.

Working with partners:

We are well aware that working with children who are physical and / or mental restricted is crosscutting and requires the involvement and collaboration of different partners to meet the needs of these children. No one person, government ministry, department or organization can meet the challenges of disability alone. Therefore, working in partnership is important!

Challenges:

It's a big challenge to keep the centre running because the funds available are not enough to purchase the required assessment tools, organizing workshops and visiting the homes of the handicapped children for assessment and creating community awareness on disabilities.

The centre lacks basic assessment equipment and is desperately in need of an audiometer and speech therapy aids, hearing aids, spectacles, and special teaching methods. 

The centre could also use financial help with;

• The development of information and communication materials such as flyers.
• Direct support to community based initiatives and income generating activities aimed at reducing poverty in families with handicapped family members.

Besides running the assessment centre Marieta and her daughter Immaculate both sponsor a child at the Port Reitz School.