Arusha, Especially

Time for an update! Kitchen Garden project is already producing a harvest, bringing more variety to the school meals at Patandi Secondary School! 🍅🫑🍆🥬

Planted vegetables include; African nightshade, collard green, bell pepper, egg plant, amaranth tomatoes and cabbage💚

🇫🇮 Kitchen Garden projekti tuottaa satoa ja Patandin oppilaiden kouluruoka monipuolistuu!❤️

Finland’s democratic backsliding continues with cuts to disability rights

The European disability movement is deeply disappointed with the Finnish government’s plans to cut structural funding for organisations of persons with disabilities, completely eliminating much-needed advocacy and legal support for over 580.000 Finnish people with disabilities. It is not only undermining disability rights but also an alarming advance in Finland’s path of democratic backsliding and ongoing authoritarian tendencies which we unfortunately witness in more and more countries

The government intends to cut 30% of the funding for organisations of persons with disabilities, and notably, to completely strip their power to advocate and advise persons with disabilities. This will lead to all disability-related advisory services ending next year.

Finland used to be a leader in disability rights. If these plans go ahead, it risks sinking to the bottom of the rankings.

The latest European semester country report already asserted worrying statistics:

33% of the children of families where at least one parent has a disability are at risk of poverty and social exclusion. This is well above the EU average of 24%.
24,3% of young people with disabilities are unemployed.
The gap in employment between persons with and without disabilities is 20.4 percentage points.

The lack of structural funding for organisations of persons with disabilities and of support for advocacy and advisory activities means the government will not have the input necessary to address this trend. It also means that further actions to erode the rights of their citizens with disabilities will go unchecked. It will leave over 580,000 people vulnerable and without access to help to support their rights.

It will also undermine Finland’s responsibilities under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which it has ratified. Representative organisations of persons with disabilities are essential for meaningful consultation under Article 4.3 of the Convention. Removing their ability to advocate and advise effectively weakens democratic participation and the capacity of government to develop policies that respond to the realities faced by persons with disabilities.

We call on Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and Minister of Social Affairs and Health, Wille Rydman to reverse these changes:

Include advocacy and advisory actions in structural funding.
Strengthen funding for civil society organisations, eliminating both the already made and the planned cuts.
Guarantee that all decisions are taken in close consultation with representative organisations of persons with disabilities, in accordance with article 4.3 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Maija Aatelo, Chair of The Finnish Disability Forum, comments:

It is difficult to understand or agree with the Finnish government’s planned funding cuts, as they will cause multiple growing costs for other public organisations. Just the future 2 000 unemployed personnel costs shall eat the savings in real life.

Public health organisations have placed extensive emphasis on the fact that they have no employees or financial resources to cover the lost work organised by disability organisations. The Finnish Disability Forum and Finnish disability organisations are flexible, adaptive and efficient – The government should use more, not less funding to promote their valued and needed work. That would lead to real savings for the whole nation.

Veera Florica-Rajala, Executive Director of Treshold Association, a Finnish organisation of persons with disabilities, said:

These policy decisions mean that all disability-related advisory services would end next year. In practice, this would mean that parents who have just had a child with a disability, as well as employed persons with disabilities, would no longer receive support in finding solutions to the challenges they face in their daily lives.

In addition, disability organisations would be stripped of their ability to influence public policy. We would no longer be able to engage in dialogue with ministries and other public authorities on legislative reforms and broader policy development. As a result, we could no longer contribute our expertise to preparedness planning or help ensure the delivery of effective services that support people’s well-being.

If next year’s planned cuts go ahead, funding for social welfare and healthcare organisations will have been reduced by 50% in just three years.

Gunta Anca, President of the European Disability Forum, stated:

Finland has long been recognised as a country that values equality, human rights and participation. We are deeply concerned by measures that would silence the very organisations that make these values a reality for persons with disabilities. Nothing about us without us is not merely a slogan – it is a legal obligation and a cornerstone of democratic decision-making.

Catherine Naughton, Executive Director of the European Disability Forum, added:

Cutting funding and denying oversight from civil society is one of the most important signals that a country is becoming authoritarian. We are very sad that Finland is choosing this path. Finland has been a world leader in the past, not only in ensuring the rights of its own citizens but in supporting persons with disabilities around the world.

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Kitchen Garden Project at Patandi Maalum Secondary School🥬🍅 (Finnish in below!)

Together with FSE, FFD and TAHA, we support students with disabilities in Arusha, Tanzania, to learn farming and environmental skills.

Project goals:
🔹Diversify school meals through a vegetable garden
🔹Plant trees in the schoolyard
🔹Train teachers and students in practical gardening
🔹Raise awareness of climate change and sustainable development

By browsing the photos, you can follow the garden’s journey as it flourishes. You’ll also see a TAHA trainer working with teachers, as well as Gabriel Jerome, who leads the project and skillfully teaches through a learning by doing approach. 🌱
The knowledge and skills gained through the garden will continue to benefit students for years to come - and may even provide a future profession for a student with a disability.❤️

🇫🇮Patandin lukion Keittiöpuutarhahanke🥬🍅

Yhdessä FSE:n, FFD:n ja TAHA:n kanssa tuemme Tansanian Arushassa vammaisia oppilaita oppimaan viljelyä ja ympäristötaitoja.

Tavoitteena on:
🔹Monipuolistaa kouluruokaa kasvitarhan avulla
🔹Istuttaa puita koulupihaan
🔹Kouluttaa opettajia ja oppilaita käytännön viljelytaidoissa
🔹Lisätä tietoisuutta ilmastonmuutoksesta ja kestävästä kehityksestä

Kuvia selaamalla näet kasvimaan kukoistusta, TAHA:n kouluttajan kouluttamassa opettajia sekä hanketta johtavan Gabriel Jeromen, joka opettaa taitavasti learning by doing -menetelmällä! Kasvitarhan kautta saatava tieto jatkaa pitkään kulkuaan ja tarjoaa jollekin vammaiselle oppilaalle kenties ammatin.❤️

Greetings from Ngoswak! The Ngoswak area is once again suffering from drought. The school does not have enough water, and the children cannot be provided with meals as they should. We brought maize to the school to cover their needs for a week.

A permanent solution would be a solar-powered borehole. It would provide the school with water for cooking, sanitation, and even farming, helping to improve food security in the long term. Join us in supporting this work - for example, by becoming a member ❤️

🇫🇮Terveisiä Ngoswakista! Ngoswakin alue kärsii jälleen kuivuudesta. Koululla ei ole riittävästi vettä, eikä lapsille pystytä tarjoamaan ruokaa kuten pitäisi. Veimme koululle maissia viikon tarpeiksi.

Pysyvä ratkaisu olisi aurinkoenergialla toimiva porakaivo. Sen avulla koululle saataisiin vettä ruoanlaittoon, sanitaatioon ja myös viljelyyn, jotta ruokahuolto paranisi pitkällä aikavälillä. Tule mukaan tukemaan toimintaamme, esimerkiksi liittymällä jäseneksi❤️

Opettajakoulutus on ollut FSE:n toiminnan ytimessä alusta asti!💛

Jo lähes vuoden ajan opettajia kolmesta eri yhteistyökoulustamme on osallistunut mentorointikoulutukseemme yhteisen tavoitteen äärellä: erityisopetuksen käytäntöjen kehittäminen ja ammatillisen osaamisen vahvistaminen omissa kouluissa.
Mentoroinnin vaikutukset näkyvät jo. Tässä kuvassa Themi Secondary Schoolin opettaja opettaa oppilaita ICT-tunnilla.👍

🇬🇧 Teacher training has been one of FSE’s core programs from the very beginning.💛

For nearly a year now, teachers from three different schools have been participating in our mentorship program, working toward a shared goal: strengthening special education practices and building professional expertise within their own schools.

The impact is already visible. Here, a teacher - also the Head of School - at Themi Secondary School is leading an ICT class with students.👍

Themi Secondary Schoolin näkövammaiset oppilaat ovat saaneet käyttöönsä tabletit, jotka tukevat heidän oppimistaan monin tavoin. Tablettien avulla oppilaat voivat kuunnella tekstejä ruudunluku- ja voice-over-toiminnoilla, suurentaa tekstiä, säätää kontrasteja sekä hyödyntää digitaalisia oppimateriaaleja itselleen sopivalla tavalla.

Tablet­tien ansiosta oppimateriaali on paremmin saavutettavissa, oppilaat voivat opiskella itsenäisemmin ja osallistua opetukseen yhdenvertaisemmin muiden kanssa.

🇬🇧: Visually impaired students at Themi Secondary School have received tablets that support their learning in many ways. With the tablets, students can listen to texts using screen reader and voice-over features, enlarge text, adjust contrast settings, and access digital learning materials in ways that suit their individual needs.

Thanks to the tablets, learning materials are more accessible, students can study more independently, and they are able to participate in teaching on a more equal basis with their peers.