KIX Africa 19: Learning visit to the Resource Center for the Blind in Lesotho

Nestled in the heart of a vibrant community in Maseru, Lesotho, St. Bernadette Resource Center for the Blind is more than just a school. For more than 50 years, it has been a place of hope and empowerment for children who are blind and those with low vision by giving them the tools and confidence to navigate the world independently. On 21st August 2024, the GPE KIX Africa 19 Hub through UNICEF’s Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) facilitated a learning visit by a delegation from Kenya to the St. Bernadette Resource Center in Lesotho. 

In the country-to-country exchange, six officials from the Kenyan delegation which was led by Mr. Haga who is the Head of Directorate, Special Needs Education in the State Department for Basic Education, Mr. Daniel Obat, Ms. Irene Gachati and Mr. Daniel Sanoe from the Kenya Institute of Special Education, and two UNICEF colleagues visited the resource center. They were able to witness its successes in breaking down education barriers and providing essential services to children with visual impairments from the early years of learning through their transition into mainstream schools. 

The delegation learnt of several good practices at the St. Bernadette community and school which are leading to better inclusion of children with visual impairments. Inclusion is being achieved through the presence of teachers at the resource center, the smooth transition of children with visual impairments to mainstream school, practical demonstration of curriculum differentiation practices, and social inclusion of learners with visual impairments in the classroom.  The school has recruited dedicated staff, composed of skilled special education teachers and a transcriber who work tirelessly to ensure that every child is equipped with basic braille skills to enhance their literacy and numeracy skills. The teachers support the learners in grade one and two as they prepare them to transition to the mainstream classes in grade 3. 

A child at the center using slate and stylus.

One of the teachers highlighted how the center places a strong emphasis on life skills training which helps the learners with visual impairments build independence in activities of daily living such as dressing, cooking, and personal care. She continued to state that the center nurtures social skills as children with and without visual impairments are encouraged to interact with their peers in both inside and outside the school setting which ensures they are prepared for integration into mainstream schools. 

The center head teacher expressed the challenges of limited number of teachers who are currently supporting learners who transition to the mainstream school as they all rely on the services of one transcriber. The Kenya Institute of Special Education shared about the in-service diploma ad certificate teachers training courses on braille and visual impairments to help increase the capacities of teachers to support children with disabilities which was considered in the joint workplan. 

The delegation also learnt of the important role played by community and parental involvement in the inclusion of children with visual impairments. The resource center fosters strong systems of involving parents and the community and focuses on creating partnerships between the school, community, and local organizations to support inclusive education efforts. The center shared the strategies for coordinating services to address both educational and non-educational needs of learners with visual impairments and how to create and maintain multisectoral partnerships to provide holistic support (healthcare, social services, etc.) to the learners. 

Feedback provided by the Kenyan delegation to Lesotho was on the need for the center to provide early childhood care and education services as children with visual impairments often miss out on this level which is key to early exposure to tactile learning materials and auditory descriptions. In addition, the delegation was impressed by how the center integrates visually impaired learners into mainstream education, by the inclusive teaching strategies used by teachers to accommodate students with visual impairments and other disabilities and by methods of creating individualized education plans (IEPs) to cater to diverse learner needs.  

The Kenya and Lesotho MOE delegations participating in the visit. 

At the end of the visit, the two ministries developed a joint workplan where the Ministry of Education in Kenya will support the Lesotho Ministry of Education and Training to improve on functional assessment for identification and placement children with disabilities in schools, teachers training on inclusive education, adaptation of curriculum and assessment procedures to meet the needs of children with disabilities and joint research and evidence generation.