May 10, 2021
By Dadson A. Musa
Visually- impaired people contend with the everyday challenges of life. Society has the tendency to marginalize them or treat them as outcast. That negative attitude towards them seems to be changing gradually in this country. That is the reason government has set up a commission for disables in Sierra Leone. And there was a manifesto pledge by this government to cater to their needs. Paul School for the Blind, a primary school located in Bo, Southern province of Sierra Leone along Gbaima road very close to the Magistrate court is one such school that needs further attention of donors and government. It is in a fenced compound and all the pupils attending the school are housed in the compound. The school is co-educational and it is government-assisted.
But there are teething challenges of water supply, electricity, late disbursement of subsidies, etc. So there can be serious challenges sometimes in the running of the home and also the school. Mr. Conteh, the head teacher who doubles as head of the home is himself a blind man but has taken on a task as challenging as the impairment he is living with. The world knows that being visually-impaired is never the end of the world for any human being.
In Sierra Leone, were living with any form of disability is an extra challenge on the victim. We have seen David Blunket (blind) becoming an effective Minister then in England, Mustapha Bai Attila (blind) performed as journalist; musician and Minister in Sierra Leone, Steve Wonder, a man of color became an award-winning musician in the United States of America.
There is a disability act in Sierra Leone and we bring the attention of government to make sure people with disabilities especially the visually-impaired get the needed attention. This is why some public buildings are disable-friendly now. Some of them, history has shown talents and abilities but all they need now is the right environment and conditions for them to thrive. The road that leads to their compound is bumpy and dusty which is another health hazard.
When contacted, Mr. Conteh said he is trying to cope under the given circumstance and they have being producing good students up to university level. For those who have made it to secondary school, transportation to and from school is another concern for them. Bo is the second city of Sierra Leone where getting resources takes time as decentralization has not taken root yet in our country. Most facilities are easily accessed only in the capital, Freetown.