Special needs teachers at Spire primary school in Jinja city can now breathe sigh of relief thanks to The Rotary Club of Jinja committing 170 million Ugandan shillings to construct a 5 units self-contained rooms for them.
The school is one of government-aided part of the universal primary education in (UPE) program that cares to the special needs pupils including 58 visually impaired students who rely on braille. Ms. Betty Linda Ashaba, the head teacher , expressed gratitude to Rotarians, noting their compassion which has elevated the reputation of Spire Road School of the Blind, also known as Balitwegomba School of the Blind.
“There is a need for a full-time healthy worker for special needs in case any pupil fall sick, putting walkways from the dormitory to the classroom blocks, special latrines, fire extinguishers, installation of CCTV cameras and repair of braille machines,” Ms Asawa said.
Mr. Shariff Muganwa, a visually-impaired teacher and beneficiary teaching at Buyengo Senior Secondary School in Jinja District, call upon both government and private sector to promote inclusivity for equal employment opportunities. The president of the Rotary club of Jinja, Ronald E. Rujumba, emphasized that the construction of accommodation units for teachers aims at enhancing the quality of education for visually impaired pupils.
“My leadership will focus more on environment protection by encouraging pupils and students in the school plat trees and address climate change challenges”, he said
Rotarian William Okelo, a past president, revealed that the club allocates approximately 25 million Ugandan shillings annually to cover various needs of the pupils, including school fees, scholastic materials, food, medical services and utility bills, as well as repairs to the braille equipment.
He added, “in order to sustain and facilitate a continuous education of the visually impaired children in the region, I propose multi-purpose building at a cost of three billion Ugandan shillings (3bn)on the school land after completion of the accommodation facility”.
This multi-purpose building will provide sustainable source of funds for continuous learning of the pupils both at Balitwegomba and St Francis Madera where the club pays for the their O-level and A-level school fees.We therefore call up all well-wishers, funders and sponsors to lend a hand in this noble cause to provide a future to these visually impaired pupils
