“Being blind has made me a stronger person”

School is for everyone

Abubakarr is grateful for the bond he shares with Magdalene, who he also calls ‘mum’. He recalls the first lesson he learned from her: “A person with a disability should not [have to] be a dropout.” In other words, people with disabilities are just as capable of going to school and achieving success as anyone else.

Abubakarr and Magdalene have often had to grapple with disability stigma, discrimination and unequal treatment. “People used to mock me and be mean,” says Abubakarr, recalling those troubled times on the street. “I couldn’t see what they were doing and that made it worse.”

Magdalene concurs. “When we were in Kailahun people used to discriminate against people living with disabilities,” she says. “They often said that people living with disabilities must not be educated, must not be involved in political participation.”

She adds: “We want to raise awareness among our colleagues that disability is not inability.”

Magdalene didn’t just encourage Abubakarr to start school; she also shared with him what she knew people with disabilities are capable of, as well as teaching him about disability rights. “She understood how I was feeling, encouraged me to stop begging and found me a shelter to live in,” says Abubakarr. “Here the roof leaks sometimes, but it is so much better.”

A secure present makes for a secure future

Abubakarr is already on the path to a bright future. He’s moved to Freetown, where ‘Aunty Magdalene’ is studying gender at university and has been inspired to go into politics herself. And he’s brimming with hope for his future. “I want to become a lawyer; to be able to advocate for my colleagues who are disabled,” says Abubakarr. “Secondly, I really want to do music, because I was doing music when I was attending blind school in Bo. I was restricted by my headmaster who said that if I focus on music, I won’t be able to focus on my education.”

That’s no longer the case now that Abubakarr is at an inclusive school.

“My goal is to be a music artist,” he says. “After writing a song, I go over and over it, again and again. In that way I’m able to study the music and memorise it and sing it.”

Now Abubakarr is learning in a nurturing, inclusive school, and supported in a loving home, he is optimistic about the future with Sightsavers’ support. “Sightsavers helps me. They work with my school and encourage me to do my best,” says Abubakarr. “They make me believe I can do what I want to do.”

Abubakarr’s remarkable experience features in ‘Different Like Us!’, a new book written by children’s author Margaret Rooke and illustrated by Tim Stringer. It shares the stories of more than 40 children and teens from around the world who feel different for all kinds of reasons, to encourage compassion and understanding. Abubakarr is chuffed to be a part of it.

“Firstly, if they publish the book for the entire world to see maybe I will receive the help I need,” he says. “Secondly, that will further expose my talent to the world.”

Abubakarr has a lot to be proud of and plenty of talent to get him where he wants to go. But, he says, no one can do it alone. “I have learnt that if you don’t have someone to encourage you, you will not be inspired to do what you want in life.” Thanks to a whole family of people around him, and Abubakarr’s own persistence, he’s well on his way to realising his potential.

Abubakarr’s education has been supported by the Secondary Education Improvement Programme, also known as ‘Leh Wi Lan’ (let us learn in Krio, the local language), a programme which aims to make secondary schools more inclusive and accessible for all students.