Derby special ed director travels to Africa

3-month mission to assist teachers at school in Nairobi
My name is Lois Knapton and I am the Special Education Director in Derby Public Schools.

I am privileged to have an opportunity to go live for three months in Nairobi, Africa and share my special education knowledge base with a country that does not even acknowledge disabilities or have any laws regarding them.
My job here in America is to advocate for students with disabilities, assuring they get the education they deserve.?

?In Kenya, if you are disabled, you are lucky to stay alive. I will be spend three months working alongside staff and students of a private school called Missions of Hope.?

?? It was founded in 2000 by Mary Kamau. She had a dream of building a school in the largest slum in Africa, the Mathare Valley. It is three miles long and one- half mile wide and houses over one million people. There is no sewer and no running water.
?Until? you have witnessed this kind of poverty firsthand,? you simply cannot imagine it. No words describe it.? But there is hope.... The school started with 50 children and has grown to more than 7,000.
??????? So how did I get this opportunity?? I went a missions trip with 24 other educators, last summer, with my church from New Haven. I loved it so much, I wanted to go back. When Missions of Hope called and asked me to come back, I was elated.? But this time I am going alone. I'll have support when I get there.
?I will be posting a weekly blurb and photo, describing the trip from the inside. Please follow my weekly blog as I embark on this profound life-changing experience.

Note: The above was provided by Knapton, who left Friday for a 24-hour trip to Africa. Stay tuned for updates as she writes about her experiences.

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