In commemoration of the Day of the African Child, Youth Peacemakers Tanzania (YPM) spent the day with students at Irente School for the Blind in Lushoto District. The celebration aimed to promote children’s rights, inclusion, and the importance of ensuring that every child has access to essential services for their growth and development.
Through a variety of interactive games and activities, YPM educated students about the 2026 Day of the African Childtheme, which calls for universal access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services for every child in Africa. The games provided a child-friendly approach to teaching the importance of handwashing, maintaining a clean environment, using safe sanitation facilities, and adopting healthy hygiene practices to support children’s well-being.
Speaking during the event, Mr. Mshana, a teacher at Irente School for the Blind, explained that the school was established in 1968 to provide education for girls with visual impairments. In 1979, it expanded to enroll both boys and girls, and in 2018, the school officially adopted an inclusive education model, bringing together students with visual impairments and those without disabilities in the same learning environment.
The school operates as a boarding school for students with visual impairments and as a day school for sighted students, with a total enrollment of 110 students. It follows the standard Tanzanian primary school curriculum, which is taught in Kiswahili. Thanks to the dedication of its teachers and school leadership, Irente School for the Blind has consistently achieved outstanding academic results and is recognized as the top-performing school for learners with visual impairments in Lushoto District.
Mr. Mshana also noted that the school intentionally admits a small number of sighted students to strengthen inclusive education and encourage learning together. In mixed classrooms, students who are blind, those with low vision, and sighted students study side by side in balanced class sizes, ensuring that every child receives the attention and support they need to thrive.