MBARARA – The Rotaract Club of Mbarara University of Science and Technology has repaired 14 Perkins Braillers belonging to St. Hellen’s Primary School in Nyamitanga, Mbarara Municipality.
Prudence Kyompaire one of the teachers at St. Hellen’s highlighted the challenges they go through to groom and nurture these pupils. She noted the fact that the pupils with visual impairment have no nursery teacher and they spend much time on one pupil to teach with the use of hand frames.
“So even if a pupil comes at an old age he/she has to start from Primary One and then it becomes a struggle to teach him how to write, because we had spent 10 years without these machines. We have been fidgeting with slates but now these machines are going to ease the learning process in both class work and exams,” she said.
Sister Vassie Bakuze the in charge of the visual impairment section at St. Hellen’s Primary School said their machines broke down 10 years ago and the pupils have been finding hardships in doing exams, especially at Primary Seven.
She expressed her dismay to the Ministry of Education and Sports’ department of Special Needs whom they notified about the concern and not until last year when they brought three machines which also broke down, nothing had been done.
“Two years back MTN came and gave us two, in a section of more than 30 pupils we have been using only two Braillers, we have been badly off so we call upon the line ministry to come to our rescue and equip our section with more machines,” Sister Bakuze said.
“These machines help them to do most of their class work even in exams like any other pupil but we translate their work into brail or writing in dots and we start teaching them how to use these machines from Primary Four, but now they have not been using them since they broke down,” Sister Bakuze said.
Sister Bakuze said when Rotaract Club of MUST came asking what they could do to help the school, they suggested repairing the machines and the club managed to repair 13 machines. We are so grateful to the entire rotary family for the assistance they rendered to us.
Janat Nagasha from Rotaract Club of MUST said they are looking forward to extending more help to these students. She called upon other clubs to reach out to the school and offer more help.
“We are sure these machines are not enough and we need to help these pupils because disability is not inability, we can help them learn and become big people in future,” Nagasha said.
