Educational Programs
Junior Program
SSLC offers basic functional literacy and life skills training for students ages 4 to 17. Most of our students come from poor families without the means to pay for the therapy or education that can improve their child’s wellbeing, and if left to fend for themselves in the community, they (especially girls) are at high risk of discrimination, neglect, sexual and physical abuse. The Junior Program has students with varying degrees of physical and mental challenges, including autism, cerebral palsy, learning delays, and Down’s syndrome. Meanwhile, there is a growing list of additional students waiting to enroll. We need to grow our capacity to take in more students.
The core learning program seamlessly merges into the adult program so that children growing up in the school are able to transition from one program to the other without any adjustment issues.
Video: About SSLC's School Programme
Adult Program
SSLC’s young adults (18 years old and older) receive training in Employment/Job Skills in a variety of Income Generating Projects (IGPs). Besides teaching work skills to enhance the students’ employability, the adult program also focuses on teaching age/gender-appropriate life skills such as; sexual and reproductive health rights and responsibility, self-care, and defense against abuse.
SSLC’s Adult Program includes adult students, most of them graduates from the Junior Program, living with autism, cerebral palsy, Down’s syndrome, learning delays, albinism, and Pfeiffer’s type I syndrome. They are learning job/employment skills on the job through the Income Generating Projects (IGPs). The IGPs are developed on the school premises so that adult students can safely engage in producing and selling products to generate revenue which, supplemented by grants, can give them an income. These IGPs include livestock keeping of sheep, chicken, fish, bees and ducks; fruit and vegetable farming; and jewelry making using beads. These activities have been our most effective advocacy demonstrating that disability is not inability. They also enhance the students’ independence and value to their families, thus reducing the stigmatization and rejection that most of them experience.
Therapy and Services
SSLC provides students with multiple therapy services. These include: Physiotherapy, Reflexology, Speech Therapy & Sign Language, Gross & Fine Motor Skill Exercises, and Music Therapy.
Learn more about SSLC's:
Theology of Disability Workshops
In collaboration with AHI, SSLC offers Theology of Disability (ToD) workshops biannually for parents, teachers, church and community leaders. This workshop is a paradigm-shifting process and tool to facilitate the evaluation of personal thoughts, attitudes, and actions one has toward people living with disabilities. In many parts of the world, people with disabilities are often marginalized, neglected, abused, ostracized, and even killed. This workshop challenges people to recognize the value, dignity, and purpose of people with disabilities in their own community.
Advocacy and Community Awareness
SSLC hosts and participates in various community awareness events, allowing the community to witness the impact the school is making in the lives of the children we serve, as well as draw attention to the fact that all people are created in the Image of God. Events have included the celebration of International Down’s Syndrome Day (March 21), International Day of Autism Awareness (April 2), and International Day of People with Disabilities (December 3).
In April 2022 SSLC was proud to once again celebrate the International Day for Autism Awareness and participate in a march with allies and supporters from all over Tanzania. These activities and events raise public awareness and show that those living with disabilities deserve the same respect and dignity given to all other segments of society.
