Expanding Educational Opportunities in Africa

Across Africa, less than ten percent of children who are blind have the opportunity to attend school, gain an education and realize their greatest potential. For children who are blind with additional disabilities, or deafblind, the chance to attend school is even more limited.

When Perkins began working in East Africa in 1989, there was one program serving children who were deafblind in the region. Today, our programs enable more than 500 children who are blind with additional disabilities to attend school each year in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. Some of our partners include:

A student with low vision engaged in a math lesson, Siloe School for the Blind, South Africa

• Kabarnet School for Deaf-Blind Children, Kabarnet, Kenya
• Maseno School for the Deaf, Maseno, Kenya
• Uhuru Mchanganiko Primary School – Deafblind Unit, Uhuru, Tanzania
• Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation, Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania
• Uganda School for the Deaf – Deafblind Unit, Kampala, Uganda
• Ngoro School for the Deaf – Deafblind Unit, Ngora/Kumi, Uganda
• Montfort School for the Blind and Deaf, Malawi
• Sibonile School, South Africa
• Arthur Blaxall School, South Africa

Many children receive services directly in school, while others receive services through community outreach programs. In the Caribbean, Perkins works with three schools in St. Lucia that serve children with multiple disabilities. With Perkins' support, these schools formed a national committee on multiple disabilities, which established a new center for children in Castries and Soufripre.

Perkins' work in Africa provides adolescents with daily living and vocational training opportunities. The Maseno School for the Deaf, a Perkins partner, assists teens in achieving employment by establishing vocational projects in students' home communities. In collaboration with the Swedish Disability Organization International Aid Association, we have co-sponsored transitional services to adults by generating local employment opportunities in fields such as farming or tailoring.

Learn more about our other programs in Africa