Disability Workshops

I have been to a few interesting disability events in the past week. Yesterday I went to the opening of the first ever event held by the Ministry of Health and Social Services for people with visual impairments. This was a very basic workshop for about 25 people with visual impairments on legal issues, but all the media were present. One of the parts of the workshop that the organizers and attendees were most pleased about was that they had materials available in Braille. The workshop shifted between Oshiwambo, English, and Afrikaans – with some parts translated, and other parts not. While the workshop was excellent, it also illustrated just how little has been done for people with visual impairments in the past. Another workshop that I attended last week was part of the African Girls Scholarship Program of USAID, conducted by an African organization - FAWE (Forum for African Women Educationalists). This program provides scholarships to primary school girls to pay for their school fees, and trains teachers to support the girls’ education. This particular workshop was for the teachers of girls with disabilities. Teachers from all over the nation came to this workshop, and it was interesting to see the differences between the urban and rural concerns. The leaders of the workshop, while excellent trainers, had no disability background themselves, so I ran the afternoon session for them. The teachers were quite motivated to help girls with disabilities attend schools, and I left feeling inspired.