A World that Understands Stuttering

  By Dieudonne, Coordinator at the African Stuttering Center, Rwanda In many parts of the world, especially in developing countries like Rwanda, thousands of children who stutter face a harsh, often invisible reality: a daily struggle not only with their speech, but also with discrimination, misunderstanding, and shame.  Having personally experienced the pain of being a child who stutters, I understand the magnitude of this struggle. Today, I want to share with you our efforts to change this situation and how you can join this efforts. The Silent Crisis: Stuttering in Disadvantaged Communities Imagine being a child, excited to learn, but terrified to speak. That’s the reality for many young students who stutter across Africa. In many Rwandan schools and throughout much of the developing world there’s very little understanding of communication disorders. Teachers are rarely trained to recognize or support students who stutter. Instead, some respond with impatience, ridicule, or...

By: Dieudonne .N, Coordinator of  the African Stuttering Centre,  and a member of the International Stuttering Association Board of Directors   Eugenie   The purpose of this feature story is to shed light on the challenges facing school-aged children who stutter from disadvantaged backgrounds and   to give some insights about our efforts for positive change.  And it’s also to invite each of you to  Support our Efforts (Here) , about our anti-bullying initiative. At the end of this feature story, there is also an additional short video (one minute). A Life Rescued from Obscurity -  Eugenie, a 12 year old girl who stutters, is a pupil living in Africa in eastern Rwanda, where the teachers are in a total blackout with respect to the problems involved with stuttering . Eugenie's life degenerated a day when she was at school. Eugenie said that one day, when they were in class, her teacher asked her to say her name in front of her new cl...

Tragically, thousands of young children who stutter in developing countries, including Rwanda, suffer in silence. How? and What is our new approach that we are currently using to bring about positive change? By: Dieudonné .N, himself stutters and coordinator at the African Stuttering Center, a non-profit organization based in Rwanda that helps people who stutter in Africa. Support our Efforts (Here). Challenge – What was the existing problem or situation? The life of a person who stutters can often be a struggle. However, the life of a young child who stutters from disadvantaged backgrounds in developing countries, including Rwanda, is a struggle beyond imagination. And yet, most of us ignore this. Young children who stutter are often mistreated,  intentionally or unintentionally, for having this condition. Every child who stutters does matter. Yes! TUZA, a young boy who stutters said, “My teacher teases me a lot in class whenever I cannot answer oral questions, and I feel embarras...