We believe every child has the right to quality education
- and that inclusion begins with understanding.
Who We Are
OUR TEAM
Astrid Herbosch is the founder of SpecialSkills and is the current Director of Operations.
She studied special education and has worked for 8 years in a department for children psychiatry in Belgium. She is experienced in working with children and young people with behavioral and emotional problems and with their networks.
After completing a postgraduate degreee in International Development, she volunterred at Hopital Neuropsychiatrique Caraes Ndera in 2013 in the children’s division. With Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) she worked as Special Education Needs Advisor for 2 years, researching and writing the ‘Model of good practice in the care and education of children with intellectual disabilities’.
She designed and secured funding for the ‘Achieving the full potential of every child with intellectual disability in Rwanda’ project. With 7 years of livign and working in Rwanda, she established a wide professional network int he disability sector and has a good understanding of the Rwandan context.
Charles Utazirubanda is SpecialSkills’ Managing Director and Lead Trainer. Charles started his career as a secondary school teacher. During h is two BAchelors in Education and Social Work at CUR, he followed his passion and made the switch to special education teacher at Amizero y’Ubuzima Centre in Huye. He specialised in creating teacher and learning aids, assessment tools to identify development delays and teachinga wide range of life, social, (pre)vocational and (pre)academic skills.
After 5 years of teaching, he was promoted to Director of the centre. Under his management, the school became Rwanda’s model school in the care and education of learners with intellectual disabilities.
Ishimwe Sedrique is our office cleaner and a valued member of the team.
Chantal Hughes joined the team in November 2023 and is now Manager of Finance. She supports Special Skills in administration and financial reporting, as well as fundraising.
Our Approach
We Facilitate Safe Learning Spaces
At SpecialSkills, we believe that lasting change comes from building capacity at every level of the education ecosystem. That’s why our approach combines training, coaching, and community engagement to create inclusive learning environments for children with disabilities.
We provide custom-made trainings for all school staff, tailored to their specific needs, complemented by exchange visits that allow educators to learn from one another. Our coaching visits ensure that training content is implemented effectively, with opportunities for refresher sessions to reinforce key skills. Beyond schools, we actively engage parents, community health workers, and other stakeholders to support inclusive education and child development.
SpecialSkills also works on advocacy and policy, bridging the gap between national frameworks and real-life practice in classrooms. By involving all stakeholders — teachers, families, communities, and policymakers — we strive to get more children with disabilities into school and improve the quality of teaching for every learner.
— Our Mission
To ensure every child with disabilities in Rwanda has access to quality education, empowering them to develop their full potential and thrive in their communities.
— Our Vision
An inclusive Rwanda where all children, regardless of ability, learn together, grow together, and succeed together.
— Our Story
SpecialSkills was founded in 2021 to address a critical gap: children with intellectual disabilities in Rwanda were being left behind. Although a national curriculum existed for learners with intellectual challenges, many schools were unaware of it — and those that knew often lacked the guidance to implement it effectively.
Driven by this need, Astrid Herbosch established SpecialSkills to turn policy into practice. Since then, SpecialSkills has been building inclusive learning environments, equipping educators and caregivers, and ensuring that every child has the opportunity to thrive.
