EQUATORIAL GUINEA

A work assignment has opened up horizons for a sewing workshop in which students with special needs are trained at the TA Education Centre in Malabo.

The Our Lady of Africa Centre in Malabo (Equatorial Guinea) has a Special Education Classroom in which the focus is on inclusion when offering opportunities to children with specific educational needs.

The aim is to prepare students for possible employment and so different workshops are offered that develop their skills and abilities.

One of these workshops teaches sewing, which in the Equatoguinean context responds to social demands. In this sense, it is an apprenticeship with a future as it will provide a livelihood for the people being trained.

We had good news recently when the Spanish Cultural Centre asked this workshop to make uniforms for the cleaning staff they had recruited.

Three students with hearing disabilities and two students with intellectual disabilities, aged between 11 and 17, took part in this practical activity.

The trust placed in our project has served as a stimulus and incentive to bring out the best in each student and thus contribute to the whole.

It has all been a continuous learning process: from the taking of measurements of each person, the preparation of the budget, the design of the patterns and finally the cutting and sewing of the uniforms.

In spite of the difficulties we are experiencing as a result of the pandemic, we see that not everything is gloomy. Sometimes life unexpectedly opens up a path and gives us new energy to keep going forward.

For the students involved, and possibly for their families and environment, this experience has been a challenge that has boosted their development and self-esteem. It has given them an opportunity to collaborate and learn to work as a team. It has opened up new horizons for them.

 

Purificación Infante, Malabo.
TA Translators Team.

 

 

Published in Newsclicdedito