Abdoulie's alphabet
Seven-year-old Abdoulie Chandoum lives with his nine brothers and sisters in a two roomed shack in Bato Kunku Village in The Gambia. He has been blind since birth, and although an extremely happy and well-loved child, his parents did not send him to school so he was sadly missing out on an education. This was not only because his family is very poor, but his parents didn’t think that school was even an option for him.
Last year he was discovered by Alieu Jallow, an itinerant teacher, whose job it is to identify and support children who are blind or have low vision with their studies. Alieu was able to explain to Abdoulie’s parents that sending him to school would help him live a more independent life. He has now enrolled in Batokunku nursery, about a kilometre from his home.
We believe that children like Abdoulie benefit from studying alongside their sighted peers
With help from his itinerant teacher Abdoulie's orientation and mobility skills have improved greatly, and he can now move confidently by himself to different parts of his school. He takes part in activities such as singing and learning the alphabet with his 51 class mates, and has started to learn Braille.
Sightsavers support Inclusive Education Projects such as this because we believe that children like Abdoulie benefit from studying alongside their sighted peers, so they can learn from an early age that they are able to participate equally in society.
What do you think?