Augustine Ilomo: Proof that disability is not inability

For the longest time, Tanzanian societies have looked at disabled people as individuals that cannot only tend to themselves but also people who cannot breathe life into their goals.

However, the beliefs and stigma set for such vulnerable groups of people did not hinder Augustine Ilomo from becoming one of the best students in his class.

The 22-year-old is a recent form four leaver at Kimanga Secondary School situated in Tabata, Dar es Salaam. He aced the 2021 national exams with a division 1.12 ranking, making him one of the best students in his class.

Not only did he awe the majority of his society for such a great performance, Augustine has also attracted massive attention as people have raised questions including ‘how does a student who cannot utter a single word or move most of his body parts become one of the top students in his class?’.

When Success met Augustine for the first time, he was at home with his mother and one of his friends, Talib Mbonde.

After settling down, his mother Faraja Kambanyuma, slid his wheelchair to face the door and positioned a table in front of him. In a few minutes, a silver laptop was brought out and put on the table on top of a red leather cushion.

Ms Kambanyuma also brought out a light metallic head pointer that was put on Augustine’s head and he slowly started to switch on the laptop in front of him.

“When I was in labour with Augustine, it took a long time to give birth and after he had been born, he took an abnormally long time to cry unlike children do during birth. He was born at 11am and he came to cry at 8pm and I was then told that it was because of the prolonged birth,” she recalls.

As Augustine was growing up, Ms Kambanyuma was on the look-out for the known signs of a growing child; sitting, crawling, standing up, walking and running but that was not the case.

“He was growing up but he took his time. The doctors then informed me that Augustine has Cerebral Palsy which is a disorder caused by damage to a developing brain and for Augustine, it is because his brain lacked oxygen due to the prolonged labour,” she explains.

This condition is a group of disorders that affect movement and muscle tone as well as posture. It is because of this condition that Augustine finds it difficult to communicate and do plenty of other ordinary tasks.

“It was hard seeing other children his age growing like normal babies do. I felt miserable that my child could not experience that. The societal stigma was also at its highest peak during that time because people started pointing fingers at us, especially at him. ‘What is wrong with this child’, they asked. I would not wish any person; man or woman to go through that,” she says, glancing at a window.

When he would see other children his age going to and coming back from school, Augustine would start squirming cheerfully.

His mother then knew that Augustine wanted to be a student and experience the school lifestyle like other children, but they needed a wheelchair to ease mobility for him.

“We had been late to access a wheelchair because we were living in a village located in Mufindi, Iringa and when my family relocated to Dar es Salaam, we knew that we could save up for one so that Augustine could move around including going to school.”

“One day a neighbour passed by our house with her relative on a wheelchair, when she saw Augustine sitting beside me, she asked why he was not in school at that time. I explained my situation and she offered to purchase a wheelchair that would assist Augustine’s mobility. So at 11-years-old, he was finally enrolled for primary education at Kimanga Primary School,” she details.

By that time, Augustine had started mumbling a few understandable words that enabled his communication with his family.

For example he would say ‘mma’ whenever he wanted to drink water and when he needed to relieve himself, he would give predictable signs that would indicate so.

“His primary schooling was not so challenging with the exception of examination times. It was an inclusive school so most of the teachers did not fully understand how to communicate with him during examinations since Augustine had to indicate the answers by pointing then using his head, but they managed and he passed well, thanks to them!” Ms Kambanyuma beams.

When he started his secondary education, Augustine’s teachers were not able to comprehend ways of communicating with him and this became a challenge overtime to both the teachers and him.

A short while after he joined the school, a new teacher named Sylvia Ruambo whose skills included teaching disabled children was introduced to the school specifically for him.

“A teacher-friend who is tutoring at Kimanga had one day called me over the phone when I was teaching at Msimbazi Secondary and informed me about Augustine’s situation and that the school was going to expel him from school if they could not find a teacher who could understand and teach him every subject taught in and out of class. I was experienced in what they were seeking, so I applied for the position and luckily got the job as Augustine’s teacher,” Ms Ruambo recalls.

When she met Augustine, Ms Ruambo was told of his condition in detail as she examined him closely.

Right after the school leadership introduced her to Augustine, he happily cheered at the prospect of having a teacher who could him.

“I had to teach him almost all subjects even though professionally, I am a civics teacher. I did that because I was the only one who could understand him at the time. His potential was undeniably visible,” Ms Ruambo narrates.

There was a point where she was forced to involve another teacher whose expertise is on mathematics and scientific studies.

“The mathematics teacher was also sceptical at first, but when he gave Augustine a chance to show his knowledge and understanding on the subjects he taught, the teacher became invested in him. I became even more hopeful for his future,” Ms Ruambo details.

Later on she became involved with a non-governmental organization that deals with vulnerable groups including disabled people.

They were the ones who gave Augustine the head pointer that he uses to date.

“When he entered form two, I was supposed to go to Germany for further studies but I extended my time to give him a chance to finish. I wanted him to start anew with another teacher. I had also connected him to this non-governmental organization who willingly decided to offer him a two week occupational therapy on an annual basis in a centre located In Wanging’ombe in Njombe,” she explains.

Before she left for Germany, Ms Ruambo was called by the national examinations council who wanted her to share her teaching experience with Augustine so that they could be helpful to Augustine after her departure.

“Seeing his national results is more than joyful; that everything that he had gone through during his schooling time did not go in vain. This should be a motivation to children like Augustine as well as parents and guardians living with children like Augustine. It should also be a wake-up call to Tanzanian societies who take one look at these children and align them with their disabilities that they are capable and we just have to give them a chance like we do to other people,” Ms Ruambo says.

She emphasizes that it is about time, society pays disabled children and people like Augustine more attention because many have their dreams shuttered due to societal marginalization.