27 February 2009: UNICEF in Dagestan: ensuring sustainability
A group for kids with special needs opened with UNICEF's support at school #4 in Makhachkala, the capital of the Republic of Dagestan, almost a year ago. It is a catch-up group where children will be able to adapt to studying in a school environment before they are transferred to regular groups. UNICEF, with funding from Stora Enso, provided the school with special furniture and equipment and assisted in installing the ramps and adapting the toilets. Patimat, mother of one of the students says: “When my daughter turned six I started looking for a school that accepted children with disabilities. I've been looking for months and then by word of mouth I found out about school #4. This school totally changed my perspective on my daughter’s future!” Irina, the director of the school and one of the teachers of the correctional group stresses that inclusive education “benefits not just the children with special needs, who can study and communicate together with their peers, but also healthy kids, who can learn compassion and become more sensitive to others' problems”. The programme at school #4 is now expanding thanks to the local government support. A second classroom was equipped for the disabled; teachers at the correctional classes are getting bonuses from the city hall. In early February a disabled-friendly bus was delivered, which will help bring more kids with special needs to the school. The bus has a wheelchair lift and special seats equipped with emergency buttons. Local government asserts that this successful experience in inclusive education can be disseminated to other schools in Makhachkala and even other cities in Dagestan.
Rashed Mustafa, Chief of UNICEF's North Caucasus office, says that "UNICEF always emphasizes sustainability in its projects all around the world. We are happy to see that the programme in school #4 has not just expanded, but also moved towards greater sustainability. UNICEF will continue to work with the Dagestan government on more such initiatives." Inclusive school #4 is not the only example of UNICEF's projects in Dagestan that achieved sustainability. On the way to Makhachkala UN convoys always pass Khasavyurt. It is the second largest city in Dagestan, right on the border with Chechnya. In 2004 UNICEF launched a pre-school programme for Chechen refugees at the secondary school #14, right in the middle of the Chechen neighborhood. Two groups of 25 kids a year go through a vigorous four-month pre-school training where they learn Russian well enough to start regular school the following September. UNICEF provided furniture, textbooks and other materials for this programme and funded it for one year. During UNICEF's February visit to Khasavyurt, almost five years after the launch of the programme, a group of Chechen pre-schoolers at school #14 were enthusiastically repeating Russian alphabet. Local government saw the importance of UNICEF's initiative and now provides the necessary support to the programme. UNICEF's programme in the North Caucasus moved from providing humanitarian assistance to ensuring sustainability and continuity of all its activities. For more information contact UNICEF Communications Officer Andrei Muchnik at: amuchnik@unicef.org or +7 928 796 6133
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