Leroy Philips knows first hand how precious an education is. The 23 year old is from Guyana in South America. He plays cricket like other youth there and is a radio producer. Leroy is also blind.
Acquiring an education wasn’t easy for Leroy. He faced intense discrimination. Leroy became blind following an accident when he was six years old and was subsequently taken out of the school he had been attending and was transferred to a new school catering to children who are blind and visually impaired.
Even then, the school lacked teachers trained to teach children with disabilities and there were no technologies to assist him. He recalls times when he was ignored in the classroom altogether.
Despite these barriers Leroy fought hard to stay in school and in 2006 completed high school, proving he is capable of the same opportunities as every other student.
However, receiving an education wasn’t his only dream. The other door to shape his personality and resilience was sports. In 2006 Leroy joined the Guyana Blind-Cricket Association. He says playing blind cricket was so much more than playing the game itself.
Parents are often ashamed of their children who are blind or visually impaired – playing sports in a dignified way builds children’s self-esteem and a sense of pride in parents.
This year, Leroy had been honored as one of the Queen’s Young Leaders for his work as an education and disability advocate.
The Global Partnership for Education supports children with disabilities in Guyana
In December 2014, the Global Partnership for Education approved a $1.7 million grant to Guyana. The grant is aimed at improving the quality of early childhood education, especially in the most rural areas.
Evidence strongly shows that early childhood is key to improving learning in later years of school, especially for children with disabilities.
In Guyana’s 2014-2018 education sector plan, the country has outlined a number of measures to improve education quality and teaching for all students – with a specific goal of developing alternative methods of assessment that are appropriate for students with disabilities.
As a disability advocate Leroy knows personally how important it is for thousands of children just like him to have the opportunity to learn and succeed in life. Education and sports have been those doors to opportunity for so many children with disabilities around the world.
Leroy discussed the importance of education for children with disabilities in his country as a keynote speaker at the replenishment conference of the Global Partnership for Education in June 2014 in Brussels. He is also a youth advocate for the Global Partnership for Education.