Bringing the Scriptures to blind schoolchildren

A youngster at the Iganga Primary School for the blind is thrilled to be able to ‘read’ the Scriptures for himself thanks to the efforts of the Bible Society of Uganda. Iganga, Uganda. Photo: UBS/Larry Jerden (UGA02DJ-72.JPG)

KAMPALA, Uganda — In some parts of rural Uganda having a blind child is considered a punishment for sins committed by the parents. Because of this stigma, some parents hide a blind child away.

Fortunately, however, this perception is changing and there are many people in Uganda working to help blind children and adults to reach their full potential as productive members of society. Some schools, for instance, are trying to help teach blind children along with sighted children – a recent initiative, which has been actively encouraged by the government in its own state schools. Resources for the blind are scarce, however.

The Bible Society of Uganda is supporting these efforts by providing free sets of Braille Scriptures for schools.

“We provide the books of Matthew, John, Luke and Acts,” explains the Bible Society’s Marketing and Program Manager, Ezra Ndagije. “We also provide children’s Bible stories that have both Braille and visible print and illustrations. These allow sighted and blind children to read the same books, which is helpful because of the government’s interest in teaching blind and sighted students together.”

Blind and visually-impaired children at the Iganga Primary School were delighted with their Bible Society storybooks, and immediately set about reading them in Braille. Some also had enough sight to make out the bright colours of the illustrations.

The 17 blind students at the Bishop Willis Demonstration School were also pleased when the Bible Society provided 20 sets of Braille Gospels, Acts and New Reader Portions for the library. Deputy Head Teacher of the school’s blind unit, Nexiro Wilberforce, explained that the school teaches Christianity as part of the religious education curriculum and that blind students often become frustrated because they have to ask their friends to read the Scriptures to them.

“They want to read the Bible passages on their own,” he said. “With these new Braille Scriptures, they will be able to.”

Having lost his sight at the age of seven (see following story) and having been denied the chance to attend school for many of his childhood years, Mr Wilberforce understands the frustration suffered by blind children and adults who are not given the chance to discover and develop their talents. He is therefore enthusiastic about education for the blind, and about organisations like the Bible Society which provide resources to support this vital work.

The blind students at his school are among a student body of 1,700 and write the same exams as the sighted children, using typewriters.

“They type beautifully,” said Mr Wilberforce with a proud smile.
He admitted, however, that some of the Bible Society’s Braille material, which is ‘second-level’, was difficult for the younger students to understand.

“But in their dormitories the older children can help them,” he said.
Mr Wilberforce was also excited that the Braille Scriptures would help the blind students to play a more public role during a forthcoming visit by a bishop.

“The Scriptures have arrived just a week before the visit, so now we can select one of the blind students to read the Scriptures during the service!”

Mr Wilberforce’s enthusiasm for the provision of Braille Scriptures has its roots in his earlier years when he did not have access to any. When he was finally able to attend school, he spent hours in the library reading Braille Scriptures.

“The only problem is that when you left school you could not read them again,” he remembers. “So when the Bible Society came to me some years ago to find out if I thought that blind people would be interested in reading Braille Scriptures, I was excited because I knew that many blind people, even those who were not Christians, wanted to read the Bible.” (WR 379/14 - 9.03)