Welcome to ICEVI Africa Region

• Algeria
• Angola
• Benin
• Botswana
• Burkina Faso
• Burundi
• Cameroon
• Cape Verde
• Central African Republic
• Chad
• Comoros
• Congo
• Cote d'lvoire
• Djibouti
• Egypt
• Equatorial Guinea
• Eritrea

• Ethiopia
• Gabon
• Gambia
• Ghana
• Guinea
• Guinea-Bissau
• Kenya
• Lesotho
• Liberia
• Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
• Madagascar
• Malawi
• Mali
• Mauritania
• Mauritius
• Morocco
• Mozambique

• Namibia
• Niger
• Nigeria
• Rwanda
• Sao Tome and Principe
• Senegal
• Seychelles
• Sierra Leone
• Somalia
• South Africa
• Sudan
• Swaziland
• Togo
• Tunisia
• Uganda
• United Republic of Tanzania
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

Wilfred Maina
African Braille Centre
P.O. Box 27715
Post Code 00506
NAIROBI
KENYA
Tel: 254 2 608 692
Fax: 254 2 609 623
e-mail:maina@nbnet.co.ke, abckenya@nbnet.co.ke

S. No.

Regions

Mailing Address of Officer in Place

Telephone & Fax Numbers

E-mail ID

DEPUTY REGIONAL CHAIRPERSONS

2

Dr Elly Macha

African Union of the Blind (AfUB)
P. O. Box 72872, 00200
Nairobi, KENYA.

P : 254-20-823-989
F : 254-20-823-776

elly@afub-uafa.org  or
emacha2000@yahoo.com

3

David Botwey
Sight Savers International (SSI)
West Africa Regional Office
P.O. Box 18190 KIA, Airport,
Accra, GHANA

P : 233-21-774210
or    233-21-768935
F: 233-21-774209

dbotwey@sightsavers.org.gh

4

Chairperson –
Northern Africa

Dr. Sawsan El Messiri

52 Mussadak Street, Dokki Cairo
EGYPT

P : 202-7603347
or 202-3358441
F: 202-760 0574

smessiri@soficom.com.eg

5

Chairperson -
Southern Africa

Henoch Schoeman

Christian Blind Mission (CBM)
PO Box 5294
Tygervalley, Cape Town
7536 South Africa

P : 27-21-914-3014
F : 27 21 914 3031  

Henoch@cbmsa.org
schoemangh@telkomsa.net

6

Chairperson -
Eastern Africa

Tigabu Gebremedhin

CBM East Africa II Regional Office
Post Box 2670/694
Addis Ababa

ETHIOPIA

P : 251 1 62 45 23
F : 251 1 62 45 16

tigabu@ethionet.et

cbm.roe2@ethionet.et

7

Chairperson -
Western Africa

Isuwa Jurmang

Special Education Department
Faculty of Education
University of JOS, JOS
NIGERIA

jurmangi2002@yahoo.com

5

Chairperson -
Central Africa

Vacant

Regional Committee Meeting
An Africa regional committee meeting was held at Accra, Ghana on 19-20 May 2005. Besides the members of the regional committee, the meeting was attended by Catherine Cross and Simon Bush from Sight Savers, country representatives of the West Africa region of the SSI, Carl Becker and Ben Pizer from CBM and Mani, M.N.G. Secretary General, ICEVI. Other country level officers of CBM and SSI working in the West Africa region also attended the meeting.

Wilfred Maina, the Regional Chair presented an overview of the work done by the region in 2003 and 2004 and also listed the priorities for 2005 and 2006.

The region continues to demonstrate its effective triangular collaboration between CBM, ICEVI, and SSI in implementing projects. The following key points were the highlights of the discussions.

1. Though the region listed Teacher Preparation, Mathematics Education, and Low Vision as the three priority areas, the committee reviewed the current status of planning to conduct these programmes and also introspected the preparedness and ability of the sub-regions to carry out the activities in the stipulated time. After a thorough discussion, it was agreed to implement 13 regional and sub-regional programmes on the above subjects in 2005 and 2006.

2. Both CBM and SSI have committed to meet part of the budget to support the projects in 2005.

3. Ben Pizer and Wilfred Maina will contact the Teacher Preparation Centres in the Africa region and collect curriculum being followed, which will be compared and presented at the Regional Workshop on teacher preparation along with ICEVI’s suggested curricular contents.

4. The trainees for the Mathematics workshop will also be selected by the regions as per the guidelines used in the ICEVI/ON-NET East Asia workshop.

In short, the Regional Committee meeting provided an opportunity to strengthen collaboration between CBM, ICEVI, SSI, and also other organisations for persons with visual impairment working in the region.