Ecole secondaire (HVP) Butare

 

This branch of the Home de la Vierge des Pauvres (HVP) is situated in Butare, the second largest city in Rwanda, at a distance of 130 km south of the capital Kigali. This secondary school of the HVP in Butare accommodates approximately sevenhundred and fifty pupils, forty percent of whom have a physical disability, two percent have visual disabilities and eight percent have a hearing impairment. The remaining fifty percent form part of the mainstream community. By ensuring that approximately half the pupils admitted to the school are able-bodied, a concerted effort is made to focus upon inclusion for all and therby preventing the stigmatisation of disabled children. All pupils are therefore familiarised with the "disability" phenomenon from an early age and are taught how to live with and treat their peers, regardless of abilities.