-Hello, hi—can you hear me?
John Gallawa’s image freezes for a moment on the screen. The internet connection from Singida is a bit scratchy, and his voice comes through choppy. 
Then he’s back.

John Gallawa, project manager for International Aid Services (IAS) Denmark’s Inclusive Education in Singida, Tanzania” project, is sitting in his office in Tanzania and talking about Josephine Focus. When he stood in front of Josephine Focus’s house for the first time, she was walking around inside. She was hiding in there. She had lived her entire life in hiding and had never met anyone other than her own family.

Queen of the School

Josephine Focus was born with a physical disability, and her parents didn’t believe she could learn anything or would thrive in school. John Gallawa explains,
“Her parents thought school was only for children without disabilities.”
But today, Josephine Focus is a student at Mongar Secondary School. In elementary school, she was elected as a student council representative, and she is among the top students. Now she attends secondary school, where she rides her bike and dreams of becoming a doctor.

A bicycle has made it possible for her to get to and from school every day. John Gallawa explains that the school was a bit of a distance from home, so a special bicycle was purchased for Josephine Focus. John Gallawa says with a smile,

-She’s really so happy.

 The principal says she’s a bit like a queen at school because the other students want to hang out with her and see her bike.
For John Gallawa, her story is an example of what can happen when a child is given the opportunity to go to school. But Josephine Focus is far from the only child struggling with access to school.

All the videos used in this article are clips from the documentary "OUTCASTS" created by Daniel Overbeck. Watch the full documentary here: Outcasts

Cursed by God

For several years, John Gallawa has been working with IAS Denmark to get children with disabilities into school and into the community. HOPErunners uses running as a way to engage people in Denmark while simultaneously creating concrete opportunities for children in Tanzania.

The work is thus taking place in two specific locations around the world. In Denmark, young people run for the cause, mobilize their networks, and gain insight into the lives of children with disabilities in Tanzania. In Tanzania, the funds and commitment go toward, among other things, assistive devices that enable children to attend school. At the same time, John Gallawa and his colleagues are working to challenge the perceptions of disability that can keep children hidden away, and to raise awareness about children’s right to education and community.
Much of the work has involved talking with parents, teachers, local communities, and authorities about the children’s right to education. For some families, it has also required very specific resources, because the child simply lacks a wheelchair, an adaptive bicycle, or just a pair of glasses.

John Gallawa explains that some children are kept at home because their parents do not see them as children who can attend school. Josephine Focus was one of those children.

 
– When you see people with disabilities, you shouldn’t think that it’s the result of a specific sin. That’s not what it’s about at all.

 
John Gallawa’s work, therefore, isn’t just about getting a child through the school’s heavy door. It’s also about changing the way the child is viewed.
- The attitudes of parents and local communities have begun to change. Today, more parents are sending their children with disabilities to school, and teachers who have received training are better able to keep the children in school.
However, there are still many beliefs that disabilities can be caused by evil spirits and witchcraft, that the family has not followed certain traditions, or that it is a direct curse from God, according to a report from UNICEF. This can lead to exclusion and marginalization, especially in areas with less modern knowledge about disabilities.

That is precisely why Josephine Focus’s family was reluctant to send her to school. When John Gallawa and the others involved began talking to the family, they took the initiative to send her to school.

 
– My family believed in me no matter what. So when I was found by IAS, I got the chance to start school.

From Tanzania to Mariager

 
Stories like Josephine Focus’s are what inspire HOPErunners. The project isn’t limited to Tanzania. Most recently, in Denmark, about 300 young people at a summer school in Mariager learned about children and young people with disabilities in Tanzania. They’ve run to support the children and raised money through their own networks, and they’ve watched videos from Tanzania and heard the children’s own stories about what it’s like to live with a disability in a society where they aren’t allowed to go to school or don’t have the necessary assistive devices. On screen, Josephine Focus and the other children aren’t just children with disabilities. They are students, daughters, and sons. They are children with friends and dreams for the future.
For Engagement Manager Christoffer Wilki-Kurtzhals of HOPErunners/IAS, this is precisely what makes it such an important part of the work.

 
– The heart of Hope Runners is, after all, using this everyday activity as a springboard to engage people in the cause and the people it’s all about.

In Denmark, runners have, among other things, gathered sponsors from their own networks. This year, 100 runners had an average of five sponsors each, who contributed 27 kroner per kilometer.

Together, they raised 88,000 kroner for the children.
This means that the commitment doesn’t end when the running shoes come off. When a young person in Denmark tells friends, family, or colleagues why he or she is running, more people are simultaneously introduced to the story of children with disabilities in Tanzania.
When you run for HOPErunners, you can also see exactly what your kilometers provide for the children in Singida, Tanzania: a hearing aid, glasses, a custom-fitted bicycle, or a wheelchair.
Adelina Peters has a mobility disability and previously could not leave her home. She received a wheelchair through HOPErunners.

-I was stuck inside the house all the time and couldn’t move around. But now that I have a wheelchair, I can get around and do my own things.

Her wheelchair allows her to go outside, work, and spend time with her friends. She is now a trained tailor and can support herself.

Sometimes, therefore, the awareness-raising goes beyond a single run. Christoffer Wilki-Kurtzhals talks about young people who have continued their involvement afterward, including those who later travel to Tanzania, meet the children, share their experiences, and help plan new activities.

 
- For some, meeting people in Tanzania makes such a deep impression that they take their commitment a step further and become volunteers and active members of our organization.

Local Run in Tanzania

In Singida, John Gallawa continues to work with the same idea that change grows when more people get involved. So when HOPErunners recently held a local race in Tanzania, the local community came together around sports and awareness about children with disabilities.

Students participated, families came to watch, officials were invited, and local media covered the event on both radio and TV. People played soccer and netball, and at the same time, information was shared about inclusive education and opportunities for children with disabilities.
John Gallawa sees a change in the local community every time he and the others in the project raise awareness about the issue.

-It’s like a raindrop hitting the ground. Around where it lands, particles of water spread out, even if you can’t necessarily see them.

He is already seeing attitudes slowly change. But he also emphasizes that the work must continue if the change is to reach even more people.
For John Gallawa, this is important because the work cannot be done by a single organization alone. It requires parents, teachers, local communities, authorities, and people who themselves live with disabilities.

 
The Tanzanian government has now also begun to update legislation and the practical framework for enforcing the rights of children with disabilities. They are revising educational strategies and changing how schools are designed to make them more inclusive for all children. This is exactly the kind of change Hope Runners is trying to bring about—both on a running route in Denmark and on a school route in Tanzania.