Obuntu bulamu

In Uganda approximately 2.5 million children have a disability. The decision to include a child with a disability in the family, school, and community is affected by beliefs about its cause, opinions of relatives, poverty, and the changing social fabric in especially in urban areas.

The Obuntu bulamu research project aims to improve participation, inclusion, and quality of life of children with disabilities in Uganda through the Obuntu bulamu intervention. Obuntu bulamu refers to the human characteristics of generosity, consideration and humaneness towards others in the community, and is closely related to the South African Ubuntu philosophy. The Obuntu bulamu intervention consists of peer to peer support of children, parents, and teachers, on job mentoring, infrastructural changes, development of learning materials using locally available materials, and awareness raising activities.

In Phase I (2017 – 2019) the project (also referred to as the Evidence Based Inclusive Education project) developed and tested the feasibility, cultural appropriateness and acceptability of the community based low-cost Obuntu bulamu intervention in 10 primary schools in Wakiso district, Uganda. The intervention was developed by a team of Ugandan researchers together with parents, children with disabilities, rehabilitation workers, psychologists, and education specialists. Results showed the intervention was feasible and acceptable and has the potential to improve participation and inclusion of children with disabilities.

In Phase II (2020-2024) the research team led by Dr Femke Bannink Mbazzi conducts a 4 year randomized control trial in 20 primary schools in Wakiso and Masaka districts to study the impact of the Obuntu bulamu intervention on participation, inclusion, and quality of life of 200 children with disabilities in Uganda.

As part of the data collection in Phase I of the project, photo and video voice was used with the children to document their experiences of inclusion. The video narratives made to date consist of an introduction (Obuntu bulamu) and 3 video narratives of children with a disability: Mercy, Josephine, and James. It shows daily experiences of children with disabilities in their home and school lives, and gives them and the main actors involved in their lives a voice. Children, parents, and teachers developed scripts together with a professional documentary maker. The narratives emphasize the importance of belonging and caring for each other to make inclusion possible. The videos were launched with the makers and key stakeholders in Uganda on April 6^th and 8^th 2019 and are available below. The videos invite scholars and students to embrace African descriptions and models of belonging when studying inclusion, critically reflect on postcolonial research, and build bridges between academic institutions in the North and South. In 2020 a documentary describing Obuntu bulamu will be shown at the Africa Film and Documentary Festival organized by the Ghent Africa Platform.

Other publications about the project to date are listed below:

Bannink Mbazzi, F. (2020) ‘Obuntu bulamu’: entangled voices in visual narratives of children with disabilities in Uganda. In: Goodley, D., Runswick-Cole, K. & K. Liddiard. Interventions in Disabled Childhood Studies. Sheffield: iHuman Press. http://ihuman.group.shef.ac.uk/interventions-in-disabled-childhood-studies/
Bannink Mbazzi, F., Nalugya, R., Kawesa, E., Nambejja, H., Nizeyimana P., Ojok, P., Van Hove, G., Seeley, J. (2020) ‘Obuntu bulamu’ – development and testing of a peer to peer support intervention for disability inclusion in Uganda. Under review.
Kawesa, E., Nimusiima, C., van Kerckhove, T., Nalugya, R., Van Hove, G., Seeley, J., Bannink Mbazzi, F. (2020) Selection of a classroom observation tool to measure inclusion of children with disabilities in a Ugandan classroom setting. Under review.
Nalugya, R., Nambejja, H., Nimusiima, C., Kawesa, E.S., Van Hove, G., Seeley, J., Bannink Mbazzi, F. (2020). Obuntu bulamu, a parental peer to peer support model for inclusion of children with disabilities in Central Uganda. Under review.
Bannink, F., Nalugya, R., van Hove, G. (2019) ‘They give him a chance’- Parents’ perspectives on disability and inclusive primary education in Uganda. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, doi/abs/10.1080/1034912X.2019.1593326?journalCode=cijd20.
Bannink F., Nalugya, R., Kawesa, R., Nambejja H., Nizeyimana, P., Ojok, P., Van Hove, G., and Seeley J. (2020) Obuntu bulamu, a peer to peer support model for inclusion of children with disabilities in Uganda. Oral presentation at the CBR/CBID World Congress, July 2020 (postponed), Entebbe, Uganda.

Bannink, F., Kawesa, E., Nalugya, R., Van Hove, G., Seeley, J. (2020). Obuntu bulamu – video narratives of children with disabilities in Uganda, a documentary. Ghent University / Global Minds, Belgium. Shortlisted for the Africa Film and Documentary Festival November 2020. https://www.africaplatform.ugent.be/.
Bannink Mbazzi, F. (2020) ‘Obuntu bulamu’ a peer to peer support model for inclusion of children with disabilities in primary schools in Uganda. Oral presentation at the Pushing Boundaries for Inclusion, Lilian Foundation Conference, The Netherlands, January 2020. https://www.lilianefonds.org/conference.

The research project is a collaboration between the academic institutions Ghent University, the Medical Research Council / Uganda Virus Research Institute & London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Uganda Research Unit, Kyambogo University, the Ugandan Ministry of Education and Sport, and community based rehabilitation service providers and family support groups in Uganda.

In Phase I research costs were funded by the Flemish Interuniversity Council – University Cooperation for Development (VLIR-UOS), Global Minds, and the International Federation for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus. The research costs of Phase II are funded by Atlas Alliance and FIRAH. For the second phase of the project the PI receives a postdoc fellowship from the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO).

Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Ghent University Ethics Committee (reference 2017/6 Bannink) and the Research Ethics Committee of the Uganda Virus Research Institute (reference GC/127/18/02/633). Research clearance was received from Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST) (reference HS SS4557).

For more information contact femke.bannink@ugent.be.