A Computer Lab for the Blind in Kenya

All For Africa beneficiary, our Reading Spaces. Our Reading Spaces is a US-based charitable organization whose mission is to empower Africa through reading. They aim to achieve this by creating libraries for children in rural villages in Kenya.

We had a great year in 2009! With your support, we established a computer lab at Thika Primary School for the Blind. The School has a total of 278 students and 34 teachers (14 teachers are blind). We successfully trained 39 students and 20 teachers who worked diligently to earn certificates in basic computer skills. These individuals were honored for their efforts in November. The library has opened a world of resources for these students. Although the school does not own a single dictionary, the students are able to access www.dictionary.com and other online resources.

We currently have 30 computers donated by Individual sponsors and Coca Cola Sabco.
Access Kenya is providing free internet service for the program.
We currently have 2 computer instructor but we need to hire 2 more so that we can give personalized service to the disabled students.
Only One out of ten blind children of school going age is enrolled in school. Most of them are hidden away in villages across Africa.

A QUOTE FROM A BLIND TEACHER

Christine Kayathi is a teacher at Thika Primary School for the Blind and has been blind her entire life, but today she can email and freely access online resources and states:

“A dream has finally come true; I can now read a newspaper of my choice comfortably without being a bother to someone, thanks to Our Reading Spaces.

Below is an illustration of the dire situation in Kenya

Books are bulky (makes it difficult to transport all the Braille volumes).
Expensive ( a regular math book is about Kes.500 while the same book in Braille is approximately Kes.7,500)
Scarce (two or three blind students at Thika School for the Visually Impaired are forced to share one book)
Books are a luxury (for most children in rural Africa).

OUR IMPACT

The students and teachers are able to use MS Office software with emphasis on Word and Excel. This will ultimately help the school save on costs, since Braille paper is a luxury.
Infinite resources are available online for the students and teachers. Courtesy of Bookshare, the students and teachers have access to more than 9,000 books available online.

Obstacles

Lack of funding
Absence of basic educational resources for the blind, visually impaired and rural populations
Absence of technology for the visually impaired and rural populations
Absence of opportunities to break the poverty cycle

Some Additional Facts about Thika School for the Visually Impaired

First and oldest school for the blind in Africa founded in 1946 as a hospital for disabled World War II veterans. It is currently the largest school for the blind on the African Continent