{"id":3488,"date":"2021-10-13T09:47:32","date_gmt":"2021-10-13T09:47:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/?p=3488"},"modified":"2025-06-18T09:48:04","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T09:48:04","slug":"pdon-holds-two-day-workshop-to-advocate-for-the-educational-rights-of-children-with-disabilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/?p=3488","title":{"rendered":"PDON Holds Two-Day Workshop to Advocate for the Educational Rights of Children with Disabilities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Garowe, Puntland \u2013 October 12, 2021<\/strong><br>In a united call for inclusion, the Puntland Disability Organizations Network (PDON), alongside local educators, community leaders, and DPO representatives, hosted a two-day workshop from October 11\u201312, 2021, focused on advocating for the right of children with disabilities (CWDs) to access quality education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Held at the New Rays Hotel Conference Hall in Garowe, the workshop brought together passionate voices to promote equal opportunities for girls and boys with special needs and to strengthen inclusive education practices across Puntland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Creating Space for Rights and Solidarity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The event fostered an environment of solidarity, hope, and collaboration. Participants engaged in open discussions, group work, and interactive sessions that emphasized the urgent need to address barriers preventing children with disabilities from attending school. The event served as a platform for networking and strategy-building among DPOs, educators, and community advocates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Objectives of the Workshop<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The overarching goal of the workshop was to <strong>boost school enrollment for children with special needs<\/strong> and ensure sustainable community support for inclusive education. Specific objectives included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Strengthening partnerships between schools and communities<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Building awareness of the importance of inclusive education<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enhancing the capacity of teachers, parents, and community members to support CWDs&#8217; access to education<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Interactive Learning and Participatory Approaches<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The workshop employed a participatory methodology, combining:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Presentations on types of disabilities and barriers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Picture cards for visual learning<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Group discussions and Q&amp;A sessions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Collaborative brainstorming exercises<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Participants explored distinctions between disability and impairment, and learned practical strategies to transform barriers into opportunities for inclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key Themes and Discussions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Several core issues were highlighted throughout the event:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Challenges faced by children with disabilities in Puntland<\/strong>, including lack of accessibility, stigma, and exclusion<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The role of DPOs<\/strong> in advocating for inclusive education by influencing school authorities, community leaders, and media<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Contextual enablers and obstacles<\/strong> to inclusive practices within public services and schools<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Presentations Delivered<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Three insightful presentations guided the discussions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Challenges Facing CWDs in Puntland<\/strong> \u2013 Current realities and gaps in services<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mainstreaming Disability<\/strong> \u2013 Types, barriers, and inclusive practices<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Role of DPOs and Teachers<\/strong> \u2013 Advocating for children&#8217;s rights and creating safe learning environments<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Workshop Outcomes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By the end of the two-day event, participants committed to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Actively supporting the government in realizing its child protection goals<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Utilizing communication tools\u2014especially media and social networks\u2014to raise awareness of children&#8217;s rights<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Launching community radio programs focused on the rights of children with disabilities<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Promoting youth engagement and content creation to amplify the voices of children and young people with special needs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The workshop concluded with a shared belief: that <strong>inclusive education is not just a right, but a pathway to a more just and equitable Puntland<\/strong>. With greater awareness and stronger collaboration, every child\u2014regardless of ability\u2014can and should have a seat in the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"794\" height=\"322\" data-id=\"3493\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/pdon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3493\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/pdon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/1.png 794w, https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/pdon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/1-300x122.png 300w, https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/pdon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/1-768x311.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 794px) 100vw, 794px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"717\" height=\"338\" data-id=\"3490\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/pdon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3490\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/pdon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/2.png 717w, https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/pdon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/2-300x141.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 717px) 100vw, 717px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"542\" height=\"435\" data-id=\"3492\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/pdon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3492\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/pdon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/3.png 542w, https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/pdon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/3-300x241.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 542px) 100vw, 542px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"534\" height=\"453\" data-id=\"3495\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/pdon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/4.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3495\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/pdon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/4.png 534w, https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/pdon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/4-300x254.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 534px) 100vw, 534px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"778\" height=\"332\" data-id=\"3494\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/pdon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/5.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3494\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/pdon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/5.png 778w, https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/pdon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/5-300x128.png 300w, https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/pdon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/5-768x328.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 778px) 100vw, 778px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"519\" height=\"444\" data-id=\"3491\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/pdon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/6.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3491\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/pdon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/6.png 519w, https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/pdon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/6-300x257.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 519px) 100vw, 519px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"797\" height=\"340\" data-id=\"3496\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/pdon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/7-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3496\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/pdon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/7-1.png 797w, https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/pdon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/7-1-300x128.png 300w, https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/pdon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/7-1-768x328.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 797px) 100vw, 797px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Garowe, Puntland \u2013 October 12, 2021In a united call for inclusion, the Puntland Disability Organizations Network (PDON), alongside local educators, community leaders, and DPO representatives, hosted a two-day workshop from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"postBodyCss":"","postBodyMargin":[],"postBodyPadding":[],"postBodyBackground":{"backgroundType":"classic","gradient":""},"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,93,1],"tags":[99,104,100,102,98,103,101,105],"class_list":["post-3488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-norad","category-uncategorized","tag-childrights","tag-cwds","tag-disabilityawareness","tag-educationmatters","tag-inclusionforall","tag-leavenochildbehind","tag-pdon-2","tag-puntlandeducation"],"blocksy_meta":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3488"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3497,"href":"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3488\/revisions\/3497"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pdon.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}