BUJUMBURA, April 22nd April (ABP) – Children with special characteristics and Down’s syndrome need special care, particularly in the community, and they need love so as to flourish. Those are the words of Espérance Nijimbere, a psychologist and legal representative of the association of merciful and active women for development and family well-being, abbreviated as “AFADEBEF” in French, during an interview with ABP on April 18, 2025.
Nijimbere explained that that association established a support center called “Nid d’amour” for children with special characteristics and those with Down syndrome, with the goal of promoting their development and social integration so that they can fully enjoy their rights as citizens. The center opened its doors at the beginning of 2021 and allows children with intellectual disabilities to flourish and work on their psychomotor development.
Regarding their intellectual development, Nijimbere pointed out some educational challenges, including the lack of trained staff in some schools to support those children, the absence of appropriate and adapted materials, and the limited availability of inclusive educational programs in certain regions.
Despite those challenges, she noted that when families bring their children with disabilities to specialized centers, the children show positive development in terms of personal growth.
Furthermore, addressing parents who hide children with Down syndrome, Nijimbere emphasized that it is not shameful to have a marginalized child. In that regard, she urged families with children who have special characteristics and Down syndrome not to stigmatize or exclude them from society, but rather to help them flourish.
She called on the government to support the care of those children by assisting centers that have taken the initiative to support them, so that those centers can fulfill their mission of integrating the children into society.