« Inclusion » is what the majority of nice people like to talk about, but only a few of them are actually acting in a way to reach that inclusion. The Institut Sainte-Marie Jambes is an example on this matter.

Located in a green area, the ISMJ is one of the very few accessible high school in Namur. In 2008, 90% of the school was accessible for wheelchair users. If I remember well, when I arrived at the school in 2003, we were four people with visible disabilities in different classrooms and years.

Going to this school used to make me feel like being part of a private club ruled by kind people. The school is right in front of a center where kids and teenagers with various sorts of disabilities have their physiotherapy. The ISMJ made the choice to collaborate with that center to provide assistance to the pupils with special needs in the aim to allow them to fully take part in the diverse activities related to their education. I remember being able to participate in the travels organized by the school because I could have assistance from that center. Having assistance to move around during those travels made it easy for me to be surrounded by the classmates who wanted to and liked my company without feeling obliged to help me. Because I couldn’t take my power chair, because of accessibility issues, I used to take a manual wheelchair. Therefore I needed help to move around and sometimes, some classmates would ask if they could replace the assistant.

When I was there, I remember that this school was also caring about including people from families with low income by avoiding them the feeling of being cast away. I was proud to be part of this school with strong values, where everyone was treated with respect. The teachers seemed happy to do their job too.

The reason why I am writing this today is because this month, kids and teenagers are going back to school, and some have disabilities. I was lucky to go to a school where I could meet every kind of people, kind and unkind, with and without disability, superficial and deep, open and narrow-minded, etc.. I was lucky to go to a school where my opinion was valued. I was lucky to be in a context that allowed me to learn about life through interactions with peers. Some kids, because of the lack of accessibility, will be obliged to go to school only with people with disabilities. Their peers will have different types of disabilities, but they will all have an impairment. I am not implying that it is a bad thing but I think diversity is great. If you have no disability, imagine that you are working or studying with people who all have the same hair color and hair cut. Not really the same but I am sure that you understand. Some people with disabilities only meet many people without disabilities when they have the possibility to pursue studies after high school and most of the times it is a big change.

Because I think that having schools like the ISMJ is enriching for people with and without disabilities, I hope that many will do the same to make it happen more and more.

I thank the leaders and teachers of the Institut Sainte-Marie Jambes for making inclusion possible year after year with kindness.

I wish you a great school year!
Take care of yourself and your loved ones.
Petit Cyborg

First publication 12 September 2018