The Ministry of Education and Training through Special Education and Technical and Vocational Department provided parkins Braille, slates for manual Braille, white cannes, computers, sewing machines and materials to Mohloli oa Bophelo Skills training center for visual impaired persons.

The equipment was delivered in different months of the year 2009 funded by Global Fund Round 7 HIV/AIDS grant during the first and second year of phase I implementation.

The School Principal Mr. Khanare Khanare mentioned that before Global Fund assistance, the centre had no computers and therefore was not teaching this subject. However, the assistance of 7 computers and the training of computer teacher enabled the center to impart Information Technology knowledge to the students with visual impairment.

“Thank you the Ministry of Education and Global Fund for remembering people with disabilities, without this assistance, students who lost eye sight in high school could not further their studies in secondary school because at this time they do not know to read or write in Braille. Right now they know to read and write in Braille and these skills prepare them to further their studies in special schools such as St. Catherine high school,” said the Principal Mr. Khanare.

One of the teacher who is also blind Ms. Motsilisi Mositi said the support to our center shows that the Government and the donors realized the problems of children with disabilities and are determine to offer support to ensure children with disabilities have access to education.

A visual impaired student, Relebohile Mokhali, 22 years from the rural area of Butha Buthe district, dropped school when he was doing standard 7 due to sight problem.  During the campaign to search for visually impaired people in the community conducted by NGO for visually impaired persons, his chief identified him and was taken to Mohloli Skills Training Center in Maseru to learn reading and writing in Braille as well as the use of computer.

“When I Master Braille I want to go back to school and proceed with my secondary education,” said Mokhali.

The centre Principal  thanked for the support from the Government and Global Fund saying without assistance like this, blind persons could be at home in their village without learning means of communications and networking with their counterparts in order to learn other life skills to progress their lives.