Hassane Ndiaye dreams that all deaf children will have the chance to go to school like him

Hassane is a twelve-year-old deaf boy who attends school in Ziguinchor. Thanks to the support of his teaching assistant, Dieynaba, he is able to follow lessons and make progress.

Senegal has committed to creating the necessary conditions to ensure that all children have access to education; however, significant challenges remain. To support this initiative, HI has been supporting the recruitment and deployment of teaching assistants in twelve schools in Dakar and Ziguinchor since 2016. These individuals, trained to provide one-to-one support to deaf pupils, enable children like Hassane to follow lessons and make progress in their learning.

The role of teaching assistants: enabling deaf pupils to follow lessons

Hassane Ndiaye is a twelve-year-old boy who lives with his parents, brothers and sisters, and his tame parrot in Ziguinchor, in southern Senegal. Four of the children in the family are deaf. This has never posed any difficulties in communicating, as Hassane's father, Omar Ndiaye, explains:

"At home, we've been communicating in the local sign language since the children were very young. We manage to communicate; the children are very bright, and sign language comes very naturally to them."

In 2022, Hassane started school at El Hadji Omar Ndiaye School, which has been part of an inclusive education project supporting deaf children since 2017. It was there that he met Dieynaba Coly, a teaching assistant trained in sign language who supports five children on a daily basis, both at school and at home.

"I look after the children, support them and help with their education. In class, I help them understand the lessons better and overcome any difficulties they face. In the afternoon, after lessons, I go over the lesson with them again and we work on the points they didn't fully understand," explains Dieynaba Coly. "The work of a teaching assistant is very important because, without us, these children wouldn't be able to keep up in class, given that most teachers don't know sign language. Seeing these little ones succeed is a great source of satisfaction."

Hassane's great progress

Dieynaba recalls that at first, Hassane was always panicking. Everything was new to him and he didn't yet know American Sign Language, which is the language of instruction at school.

"Hassane was a very shy child; he would always retreat to a corner and didn't want to play; but since then, he has grown up a lot. Today he is in Year 6 and joins in with his friends; they tell each other stories and play together. Hassane is independent, he expresses himself clearly, does his homework on his own and is one of the top pupils in the class."

Dieynaba's support is essential for Hassane, helping him adapt to the school environment. His teacher signs a little, but Dieynaba is there to fill in where needed. She stays by the boy's side during lessons to re-explain the instructions for the exercises and sign the lesson. Thanks to her, Hassane participates fully in school life and is making progress in his learning.

"I'm a deaf child, but that doesn't stop me from going to school. I go there every day to learn. I use sign language to communicate, and I'm really happy that everyone else uses sign language too so they can understand me. Dieynaba is very important to me. If there's something I don't understand, I ask her," explains Hassane.

Continuing on the path to inclusion

Hassane is following in the footsteps of his deaf older sister, who had already attended El Hadji Omar Ndiaye School. For their parents, it was essential to send them to school so that they could access education and socialise with other children their own age. "I don't see any difference between my hearing children and my deaf children; there is true equality in learning at this school," says Omar Ndiaye happily.

There is still some way to go before all children can enjoy the same opportunities. Hassane's parents therefore very much hope that the scheme will be extended to secondary school and then to higher education. They would also like their children to be able to undertake suitable vocational training in the future. The future is full of hope, as Hassane himself says:

"When I grow up, I want to be a journalist and travel. I have big dreams, so I need to keep studying. I hope that all deaf children around the world can have the same chance as me to go to school and learn things."

For eight years, HI's inclusive education project has mobilised civil society organisations, education authorities and focal points from various departments of the Ministry of National Education to support children excluded from the education system in Senegal, Togo and Madagascar. It has enabled the deployment of school support workers, itinerant teachers and integrated bridging classes. More than 10,000 people have benefited from this programme, nearly half of whom are girls. The project has fostered the socialisation and independence of young people, helped those around them to better understand their disabilities, and also strengthened teachers' capacities whilst adapting training structures and tools. Ultimately, it has helped to instil a vision: that of an education system where no one is left behind.