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OVERVIEW
The Africa Region was active during the current Quinquennium and several educational activities at regional and also at country level were undertaken. At the Bangkok conference Africa was divided into four sub-regions. These were French speaking countries, Arabic speaking, English West Africa and East Central & Southern Africa English. Unfortunately, some groups were not adequately catered for due to the language barrier and other communication problems.
Through ICEVI in conjunction with UNESCO, Francophone Africa was visited to establish whether it would be possible to set up a training programme for specialist teachers in that region. This has not taken off due to financial and other constraints. The need has been identified, and the concept floated to international donors and I believe that one day a training programme in that part of Africa will become a reality.
Special schools and integrated education programmes continued to promote education of blind and low vision children in the region. Conferences at international, regional and country level were held for teachers and other professionals involved with visually impaired persons.
Financial support was provided to schools, projects, and the Africa regional office by ICEVI, Dark & Light Foundation, Theofaan International, Christoffel-Blindenmission and Sight Savers International, as well as from the government during the quinquennium to facilitate educational activities within the region.
AFRICA NEWS provided valuable information to professionals and parents of visually impaired children. Information about Deafblind children and other educational topics were also included.
HIGHLIGHTS/SPECIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS
1. 250 copies of ICEVI Africa News, which was launched in September 1995, were published once in 1995 and twice in 1996. These were distributed within the region and outside the region. We have received positive responses from Ghana, Nigeria, Eritrea, Tanzania, Libya, Kenya, Malawi, Congo, Zambia, Uganda, South Africa, The Netherlands, Australia, United Kingdom, Malaysia, USA and Germany. Africa News is a forum for sharing information, identification of mutual problems and their possible solutions as well as providing information about coming international and regional events and conferences. Topical educational issues that are useful to members as well as to parents were included. We would like more people to be included in the mailing list. Names and addresses should be sent to: Mrs Gladys Nyaga, Sight Savers International, P O Box 34690 Nairobi, Kenya. Articles should be directed to: Johan van der Poel, Editor, Institute for the Blind, 20 Adderly Street, 6850 WORCESTER, South Africa. It is our hope that ICEVI and other donors will continue to fund the publication of this worthy newsletter.
2. ICEVI members from the region participated in the following conferences: International Mobility Conference held in Norway, WBU Conference on Literacy held in Uruguay, Africa Forum organised by Institutional Development Programme and held in Ghana and International Low Vision Conference, "VISION '96", in Madrid. Many new ideas were represented during these conferences and the same ideas were then shared with other professionals who were not able to attend. Some of the ideas are being implemented but others are still too advanced and the technology is not yet available locally.
3. A successful Africa Braille Conference was held at the Institute for the Blind, Worcester in South Africa from 2 - 4 September 1996. Over 40 participants from 10 countries participated. 14 resolutions were passed, one of which was that there was a need to form a Braille Committee under ICEVI, Africa. The role of this committee will be to coordinate and facilitate action to promote braille, to standardize relevant aspects of braille production, and to exchange materials so as to avoid duplication.
Another resolution was that small producers be encouraged to establish firm ties with larger production houses with semi-formal or formal agreements regarding standardisation and the exchange of electronic material. Following this conference, RNIB provided a diskette containing a list of spare braille copies in the warehouse. Libraries and other institutions serving blind persons have expressed interest to have these copies. RNIB is in the process of dispatching the books through free post to Kenya, Zimbabwe and Namimbia. Braille books for leisure reading and general information are in short supply since priority is always given to academic textbooks, therefore books from RNIB will bridge the gap.
4. The first regional meeting for ICEVI office bearers and some organisations for and of the blind was held in September 1995. Also the Regional chairperson visited several countries within the region.
5. Low vision activities were promoted in the region. A Low Vision Training model for developing countries was developed and implemented in Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi and Ghana. 8 country Trainers (ToTs) were involved. During the same period, over 200 Low Vision Kits developed by the WHO Programme for the Prevention of Blindness and the University of Melbourne Department of Ophthalmology, with ICEVI collaboration, were distributed. These are being used to screen low vision children in integrated programmes and special schools in the region.
6. In January 1997 the members of the Standing Committee on Persons with Multiple Impairments held a 5-day writing workshop in Nairobi to finalise sections of the curriculum for this group of persons. The final curriculum will be presented during 10th World Conference.
7. A Workshop to discuss matters related to examinations in regard to visually impaired students was held in Ghana during the Quinquennium. Participants learnt that VI students were denied opportunities to pursue subjects like mathematics and sciences. In some cases, extra time and/or modified and adapted questions are not considered in certain subjects that required vision or map reading. In other countries large print question papers are not available when required. These issues are being addressed as a result of the Ghana Workshop.
PRIORITIES/CHALLENGES FOR STRENGTHENING REGIONAL ACTIVITIES
ICEVI Africa region would like to promote education of visually impaired children through professional support to relevant ministries as well as to parents of handicapped children. The attitude of parents and the community towards handicapped persons is slowly changing and this continued to be promoted through short local seminars and meetings.
Africa News will continue to be published in order to improve communications amongst organisations in the region and ICEVI.
Teaching of mathematics and science subjects has been a challenge to teachers. These subjects are regarded to be difficult for the VI students but this sentiment has not been proven. There are plans to organise a workshop in 1997 for a few countries to discuss and share experiences about the teaching of mathematics to the visually impaired. Information on teaching methods, examinations, and equipment used in teaching the subject will be appreciated.
In some countries Mathematics and Science are compulsory subjects while in others visually impaired students are not taught these subjects beyond primary school level. It is my belief that these subjects are important and that with modification and proper teaching, students will benefit from them and even pass national and/or international examinations.
In a recent study (October/November 1996) on education of the VI "Girl Child" conducted by Mrs G Nyaga, it was found that students from Kenya and Malawi performed poorly in maths and science. The reasons given were: poor teaching methods, lack of teaching materials and lack of motivation as well as attitude towards these subjects.
Early Intervention Programmes are privately managed and only few countries have government co-ordinated Nursery Schools. ICEVI will continue to advocate that VI children be included in the existing programmes. However, it is important that teachers are sensitised on how to handle children with special needs since there are no specialist teachers at pre-school level.
Regional conferences will continue to be promoted and encouraged during the next Quinquennium. However, some participants are keen to attend but have no funds to facilitate their participation. It is my hope that such needs will be supported by ICEVI and international donors for the benefit of VI children.
In conclusion, the region is thankful for all the financial and professional support that has been provided by international donors and local governments during this quinquennium. We look forward to more cooperation as partners in promoting the education of VI persons.