Demonstrating success
He is top of his class, his favourite subjects are mathematics and science and his dream is to be a journalist. Mukonde Kafwimbi’s academic record is impressive, and the blind 14-year-old is outperforming his sighted fellow students.
Mukonde is one of 15 visually impaired children who go to Mano Basic School in Mufulira District in Zambia, which is part of the Inclusive Education Programme there. This means that sighted and visually impaired children study alongside each other. Sightsavers supports this principal as it helps visually impaired children adapt to mainstream society, rather than isolating them in special schools for the blind.
Like one of us
When asked about his experiences learning in an inclusive class, Mukonde said that he enjoys interacting with his sighted friends. They help him read and write notes. One of Mukonde’s friends adds “Mukonde is just like one of us, just that he can’t see.”
According to Miriam Nyendwa, the boarding mistress at Mano Basic School where Mukonde attends, the performance of the visually impaired children is no different from their sighted counterparts. In fact out of the 15 visually impaired students seven are among the best ten students in their respective classes.
The programme, run in partnership with the Ministry of Education as well as local partners in Mufulira District, covers 15 schools with a total of 36 students. Within the district four special education needs coordinators have been trained, who support the itinerant teachers whose responsibility it is to give the blind children any extra support they need in the classroom.
Scaling up
Launched in 2007, the programme is a pilot. But it has demonstrated such success Sightsavers is advocating to the Government to adopt it as a national programme, and scale it up nationwide so that many more children like Mukonde get the chance to go to school.
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