St. Martin Deppores Special School
History of St. Martin Deppores Special School for Learners with Cerebral Palsy
St. Martin Deppores special school for learners with cerebral palsy was registered by the Ministry of Education on July 31, 2006, as a special institution.
The school is located 5 Km off the Kisumu-Sondu road. It is situated in Kisumu county, Nyakach sub- county, Upper Nyakach division, Koguta location, Koguta East sub-location in Sigoti Zone. The school is in the Arch-Diocese of Kisumu and run by the Franciscan Sisters of St. Anna (FSSA) – Lwak.
The school occupies an area of approximately 2.5 hectares of land with learners capacity of two hundred and forty eight (248) of whom one hundred and thirty four (134) are boys and one hundred and fourteen (114) are girls. It has a workforce of twenty four (24) TSC teaching staff (17 males and 7 females), eighteen (18) non- teaching staffs, Two (2) ECDE teaching staffs and one (1) teaching support staff.
The school has eight (8) permanent mainstream classrooms, two (2) special classes for learners with severe disabilities, three levels of Pre- vocational classes for learners who have difficulties in coping up with academic work ii the mainstream classes and an ECDE semi-permanent classroom. The school has six (6) self-contained dormitories out of which two are single and four are in a storey building. There are six (6) pit latrines, two for boys, two for girls and two for the teachers.
St. Martin has a mandate to undertake teaching of the cerebral palsied and to provide specialized services to learners with special needs and disabilities (Cerebral Palsy).
St. Martin Deppores special primary school is a public mixed boarding school alongside its academic programs which are learners centered. The school also enhances gifts and talents in learners in various co-curriculum activities in order to;
- Enable the learners realize their full potentials despite their disability
- Mobilize people to help the persons who are challenged, poor and needy.
Main Objectives of the School
- Develop links with other special institutions,
- Effectiveness and efficiency in transfer of knowledge and skills,
- Quality education for learners with disabilities,
- Empower the physically challenged learners to acquire skills which will enable them to live independently,
- Develop plan and collaboration with development partners,
- Provide rehabilitation and habilitation services to learners with various physical challenges.
Achievements
- Qualified 24 special needs trained teachers
- Two or more learners proceed to national secondary schools yearly
- Two classrooms sponsored by Association of Persons with Disabilities In Kenya (APDK)
- Participating in special sports and games to national level yearly since the inception in 2013
- Being the top in special sports and games and has obtained a number of trophies both locally and internationally
- Continuous pupils’ population growth each year.
Areas of Need for the School
- Need for vocational equipment’s to train and support the learners with special needs
- Need for improved chairs and desks for the physically challenged learners and cerebral palsy learners and strange cabinets
- Dire need of benches and tables in the dining hall and storage cabinets
- Need for a school bus with necessary adaptations
- Need for toilets suitable for the physically challenged learners
- Need for physiotherapy department with the facilities for exercises and assistive devices
- Need for a modern library with technological advancements.
Challenges
- Most of the learners are from poor families and are orphans with severe physical disabilities thus they totally depend on well-wishers for their basic support,
- Minimum support from the government.
