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My name is Abdullah and I’m 14. I live in Swabi, in Pakistan, with my mother, two sisters and three brothers. I have always been blind, and so has my dad, but he died a few years ago.

As I was growing up I felt left out as I could hear other children playing in the village lanes or going to school, and I didn’t join in.

Unable to go to school

Unfortunately the school nearby didn’t know how to cater for children with a vision problem, which meant I couldn’t go. My father was worried about this, and spoke to the imam (religious leader) of the local mosque. The imam suggested I attend a small school he runs where children come for religious learning.

Although this gave me the opportunity to meet with other people my age, it meant that a family member had to escort me to the mosque a quarter of a mile away, sit with me while I attended the class and take me home again, as I couldn’t really walk on my own without help. My family were very supportive and encouraging, especially as at first I was quite worried about leaving the house, and I didn’t want to be a burden.

It wasn’t long before I started to make friends, and after a while it was them who helped me to get home, rather than my family.

Learning new skills

When Sightsavers’ partner the Civil Society Institutional Development Programme (CHIP) started a social inclusion project in Swabi I was identified, and taught how to use a white cane, and how to move around by myself. Everyone was amazed at how confident and active I have become!

Today I enjoy walking to the mosque, and sometimes I stop for a while at the local fruit and vegetable sellers to have a chat with the shopkeepers, or to do some shopping. I can also get to the market by myself, which is over a kilometer away, and can feed my buffalo, draw water from the well, help my grandfather in harvesting crops, gather firewood and play with my friends.

The chance to go to school!

I have learnt 26 chapters of the Holy Quran, and only have four left to go. I’m hoping to get admission to school in a couple of months, when I’ve finished my religious studies. I don’t know yet whether I will go to a special school for the blind, or the regular one, which is now confident it can meet the extra needs of people like me, thanks to CHIP’s intervention.