Sightsavers and social inclusion
When field workers in our projects identify people who are blind, many have been excluded by their families and communities, treated as a burden as they are unable to look after themselves.
But after being taught essential living skills by rehabilitation workers, it’s possible to rebuild their confidence and go on to lead independent, happy and fulfilled lives. This often includes teaching them a valuable trade such as farming, fishing or sewing, in order to earn a living. Some of our projects also have microfinance partners. This means people who have been taught a new skill can borrow money to start their own businesses.
There are other aspects to our social inclusion work than training and counselling for people who are blind.
Many governments have inadequate policies to address disability issues, so we work with organisations run by blind and disabled people to help them understand and fight for their rights. For example our partner in Sierra Leone successfully campaigned for the introduction of Braille voting slips, enabling visually impaired people to vote for the first time. And our partner in India pushed for banking to be more accessible for people who are blind.
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