World Braille Day – training community educators to include girls with visual impairment

World Braille Day takes place on the 4^th January every year to raise awareness about the importance of braille as a means of communication for blind and visually impaired people. The date for this awareness day was chosen because it marks the birthday of Louis Braille, creator of the braille writing system.

An estimated 1 in 5 secondary school-age girls in Zimbabwe are not at school – and girls with disabilities are among those most likely to miss out. CBM is working in partnership with Plan International to help girls aged 10-19, including those with disabilities, to access an education – as part of the Supporting Adolescent Girls’ Education (SAGE) programme. SAGE is funded by UK Aid through the Girls’ Education Challenge (GEC). Click here to find out about the Supporting Adolescent Girls’ Education (SAGE) programme (open link in new tab).

We’ve been training community educators on sign language and the effective use of Braille resource to ensure classes are inclusive for all girls, including those that are blind or have visual impairment. A total of 196 female community educators and 57 male community educators have been trained on disability inclusion, drawing upon the expertise of three local Teacher Training Colleges specialising in inclusive education.

After participating in the training, the community educators expressed their confidence in teaching learners with all types of disabilities. The training also included the effective identification of girls with learning and intellectual disabilities and how to support them in learning situations.

We’ve also been distributing Braille teaching and learning materials to the learning hubs set up as part of the programme, including Braille paper and alphabet trainer plates, to assist with numeracy and literacy sessions, alongside 50 pairs of glasses for girls with low vision.

Images: Top – A girl with visual impairment learns how to use Braille resources in school in Zimbabwe ©CBM/Diemer. Middle – Trainer delivering disability inclusion training for community educators in Zimbabwe. Bottom – Braille learning and teaching resources being distributed to learning hubs in Zimbabwe.