According to GEES research center, 1.6 percent of the population of Ethiopia is blind — that makes around 250,000 people. Microfinance organizations reported that persons with disabilities only accounted for 0.5 percent of their clients at the maximum. According to the World Bank, continuing to exclude persons with disabilities from economic development programs results in the loss of 5–7 percent of GDP. In Ethiopia, 95 percent of all persons with disabilities are estimated to live in poverty (Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs). Many depend on family support and begging for their livelihoods. The project aims at improving access of girls with visual impairment to educative materials and better inclusion into regular schools and by that improving their chances later on to gain livelihood. FTLGSM runs a home for 15 girls with visual impairment in Addis Ababa. Additionally, the education for other 4 blind students which don´t live there is provided in the property. These students are educated in reading and writing in Braille. The girls living in the house are abandoned by their families because of their handicap, mostly coming from rural areas. Age range is between 6 and 18 years. FTLGSM is providing them the accommodation, food, teaches them how to take care about themselves and support them with their studies. The girls can stay in this home till they finish secondary school, then they move out and go to university or start the independent life. Girls are attending current schools where they need to integrate into classes very often consisting of 70 or 80 children. Due to the high number of pupils in the classes, no special attention can be given to the children with visual impairment and lack of educative materials for these kids makes the integration even more difficult. In our project, we will buy an embosser (Braille printer) and print the school materials for girls, will equip the girls with digital voice recorders to enable them record the lectures at school, each girl will get basic laptop with emboss keybord stickers, so they could download audio textbooks and books and use them for education. We will also provide other necessary materials for the girls. We will also invite the psychologist, to provide psyhological support to the girls and train the teacher, which works in this institution, with basic psychology. The project will help the blind girls improve their skills and knowledges and help them join the common life. Girls are in different age, so as they will leave one by one the home, new girls will be admitted and can use this teaching aids.
Funding Agency: Czech Republic Development Cooperation, Addis Ababa
Implementation period: April 2020-September 2020,
Implementation area: Addis Ababa city Administration
