Plan to buy more braille machines unveiled

By Charles Ngeno

Kenya: Visually impaired children will soon benefit from a program that aims to purchase a braille machine for every visually impaired school going child.

Kilimanjaro Blind Trust (KBT) has planned to raise funds to ensure that such pupils are properly facilitated to achieve their dreams.

According to KBT’s Coordinator Alex Kaluyu, the programme has been informed by the Government’s inability to meet the needs of these children.

“For a long time, little has been done to support the visually impaired and the low vision pupils in our schools. This has been a form of discrimination and we want to address it by providing them with braille machines, braille paper and the stylus,” said Kaluyu.

He further explained that for these learners to read and write effectively, they need special tools that include braille machines, braille textbooks, and braille papers to write their notes on.  According to the a survey conducted by the trust, only 21% of blind school age children have access to quality education.

“It costs more than three times the amount to educate a blind child than a sighted child does. As a result, free primary education is not free for blind children,” said Kaluyu, adding that there is need to reverse the trend.

The current ratio of braille machines to children is 1:3 with the desire being 1:1.

Statistics by the Ministry of Education indicate that 90% of blind children do not attend school.

“To mark our 5th anniversary, KBT has initiated a campaign so as to increase awareness on the plight of blind children in accessing education in Kenya. In addition, KBT also targets to raise funds for every schoolchild in Kenya to have a braille machine,” said Joash Aswani, the trust’s advisory member.

Aswani added that the current shortfall of the machines stands at 650.

Thika School for the Blind, one of the institutions that cater for such learners, for instance has about 440 blind students, but the institution has only 206 braille machines

Increase transition rate

Aswani is, however, optimistic that once the ratio of braille machine to visually impaired child is 1:1, the transition rate to secondary schools will be increased.

The Kilimanjaro Blind Trust is a charitable trust formed five years ago to support provision of braille equipment to children with special needs to children in East Africa.

It aims to improve the lives of blind and visually impaired children in Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya through projects aimed entirely at improving their literacy level.

KBT has been visiting school for the blind to assess and evaluate the needs and challenges of these learners.  Some of KTB’s partners include Perkins School for the Blind, African Braille Center, Tanzania League of the Blind, Uganda National Association of the Blind and South Africa Council for the Blind.

According to Wilson Kurui, a Coordinating Itinerary Teacher Elgeyo Marakwet County, awareness on the plight of blind children is still very low.

He said efforts are being made to change the situation, with several special units and integrated centres having been established in the county by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Sight Savers International.

The county’s TSC Director of Education Juliet Kariuki the Government is giving priority to the employment of teachers who can handle all SNE learners.