Giving Hands at Work
November 1,2014
We drove out to the school to discuss the scholarships and deliver items that your funds helped to secure. We had magnifiers for the visually impaired children. We also carried one refurbished Braille machine.
We were surprised to find that 200 or so villagers , parents of students were at the Kangundo DEB primary school. They were there to encourage and pray for pupils that were preparing to take their final level 8 exams in the following week.
The school attends to 1200 pupils , about sixty are blind or visually impaired. Kangundo DEB is the only school that accepts blind children in Machakos county, Kenya with a population of over one million people.
The timing was interesting , as I said many of the blind children share one Braille machine, but we brought a second one, and for the visually impaired, they share two magnifiers, we brought enough for every child with vision impairment one week before their finals. We anxiously await the results of the exams. Most of the blind students are very intelligient as they need to overcome their challenges.
The Schoolmaster , Mr. Kivutu, says they have vision problems or are blind, but we believe they need to learn to get on and learn without their sight. In the first three years they learn English, Swahili ( most are speaking tribal languages) and Braille. In the fourth grade they are mainstreamed into the normal (overcrowded ) classrooms where they have the same requirements and same standards and tests as the other students.
Some previous students have gone on to get certified and have returned to DEB to teach. Literally we have “Blind teaching the Blind”.
We drove out to the school to discuss the scholarships and deliver items that your funds helped to secure. We had magnifiers for the visually impaired children. We also carried one refurbished Braille machine.
We were surprised to find that 200 or so villagers , parents of students were at the Kangundo DEB primary school. They were there to encourage and pray for pupils that were preparing to take their final level 8 exams in the following week.
The school attends to 1200 pupils , about sixty are blind or visually impaired. Kangundo DEB is the only school that accepts blind children in Machakos county, Kenya with a population of over one million people.
The timing was interesting , as I said many of the blind children share one Braille machine, but we brought a second one, and for the visually impaired, they share two magnifiers, we brought enough for every child with vision impairment one week before their finals. We anxiously await the results of the exams. Most of the blind students are very intelligient as they need to overcome their challenges.
The Schoolmaster , Mr. Kivutu, says they have vision problems or are blind, but we believe they need to learn to get on and learn without their sight. In the first three years they learn English, Swahili ( most are speaking tribal languages) and Braille. In the fourth grade they are mainstreamed into the normal (overcrowded ) classrooms where they have the same requirements and same standards and tests as the other students.
Some previous students have gone on to get certified and have returned to DEB to teach. Literally we have “Blind teaching the Blind”.
I was a little nervous talking to a large crowd of about 200 people, as was Mutune Mutisya who is from the same area, in fact Mutune’s wife went to this very school. But we were asked to speak to the children. After a little joking around, I told the children that they did not need sight to have a vision, but that they needed to get a vision, God gives us vision, and that is what would get them through their future exams , trials, tribulations and life. They were very receptive to that message. After we talked they sang hymns and many got up to speak and bless us and you for all the help and for caring.
I asked one girl , what her vision was. Her name is Patricia. I have enclosed her video so you can see her answer, needless to say it was very inspiring.
Thanks for the support you have given, these children will work hard. We personally oversaw the distribution of supplies, uniforms, and funds for their tuitions. Like always Givinghandsnonprofit.org used no donated funds for overhead. That is taken care of by us. 100% of all donations from you go to the children. 12 children were sponsored for the future school year that starts in January. They were chosen based on need and abilities. We will assign a child with their photo name and address in case you want to drop them a note of encouragement, sighted children will assist them to read your letter. Please help us by telling a few others about our project, we have other children in need. We believe that with education these children will have the ability to take care of themselves.
See Patricia’s video and she was sighted and lost her vision and was at home for three years because her mother did not know what to do with her. As you will hear and see she is an exceptional blind student with a clear vision.
Thank You again, Dr. Karl Anderson, Mutune Mutisya , and Giving Hands.
I asked one girl , what her vision was. Her name is Patricia. I have enclosed her video so you can see her answer, needless to say it was very inspiring.
Thanks for the support you have given, these children will work hard. We personally oversaw the distribution of supplies, uniforms, and funds for their tuitions. Like always Givinghandsnonprofit.org used no donated funds for overhead. That is taken care of by us. 100% of all donations from you go to the children. 12 children were sponsored for the future school year that starts in January. They were chosen based on need and abilities. We will assign a child with their photo name and address in case you want to drop them a note of encouragement, sighted children will assist them to read your letter. Please help us by telling a few others about our project, we have other children in need. We believe that with education these children will have the ability to take care of themselves.
See Patricia’s video and she was sighted and lost her vision and was at home for three years because her mother did not know what to do with her. As you will hear and see she is an exceptional blind student with a clear vision.
Thank You again, Dr. Karl Anderson, Mutune Mutisya , and Giving Hands.
