BLINDNESS HAS NOT BLURRED HIS VISION FOR JUSTICE

Dec 16, 2008

BOAZ Muhumuza is like any other student. You may easily fail to notice he is visually impaired. However, Muhumuza vowed never to let the impairment get in his way of becoming one of the greatest lawyers in Kampala.

BY NICHOLAS KAJOBA

BOAZ Muhumuza is like any other student. You may easily fail to notice he is visually impaired. However, Muhumuza vowed never to let the impairment get in his way of becoming one of the greatest lawyers in Kampala.

Muhumuza, 23, was born to peasant parents Deogratious and Stephanie Muhumuza in Kanungu district. At the age of two, he lost his sight due to cancer of the retina. He went to St. Helena Primary school in Mbarara, a boarding school that also caters for blind pupils.

Muhumuza was taken to boarding school to reduce the hassle of his family taking and picking him from school everyday. Luckily, the pupils and teachers were helpful. “I was young. The older pupils helped me with my class work and washed my clothes on weekends,” he says.

In 2000, Muhumuza got aggregate four in the Primary Leaving Exams (PLE). He was among the best pupils in the district. As a reward, Standard Chartered Bank gave him sh1.5m. The award is given to blind pupils who excell in PLE countrywide. He later proceeded to Iganga Secondary School for O’ and A’level.

“Joining secondary school was a challenge because my parents could not afford to pay my fees. They also had a big family to look after,” he says. Muhumuza spent the money on paying his school fees.

In 2002, he completed O’level and scored aggregate 10 in eight subjects. He enrolled for A’level in 2003 and studied History, Economics, Literature and Divinity. In 2004, he sat for his Uganda Advanced Certificate for Education exams and scored 25 points. He joined Makerere University on government sponsorship for Bachelors of Arts in Law. “God has helped me. I am now realising my dream career,” he says.

Muhumuza says facilitation for the visually impaired is a challenge. “The allowance that the university gives me is so little that I cannot even hire a guide. So I have to look for the money to pay my guide,” he says.

Makerere provides braille for blind students and the Government pays a guide to aid them. However, Muhumuza does not use braille.

“I work hard despite the challenges. I use print information because the course is in print and not braille,” he says.

Last year, he did not have enough scholastic materials, so he wrote to Standard Chartered Bank seeking more assistance. The head of corporate affairs, Herbert Zake, says they gave him equipment worth sh5m.

Zake says the bank aids visually impaired persons. Last year, they recruited a blind person to work with them.

Ronald Luyima of the Uganda National Association of the Blind hailed the bank for supporting the visually impaired.

CHALLENGES OF SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION
The special needs education programme in Uganda has survived many challenges since its introduction in 1992.

A recent report by World Vision reveals that up to three million Ugandans have disabilities, with 80% of them living in abject poverty. It also details the exclusions suffered by this group, including limited access to education.

Francis Kinubi of Salama School of the Blind in Mukono, says few development programmes recognise the need for the inclusion of the people with disabilities.

The education system hardly tackles the needs of the blind, with almost no books in braille. Currently, only Kyambogo University prints braille but the cost is high. For the deaf, there is a shortage of sign language experts.

State minister for people with disabilities Sulaiman Madada says the Government awards extra points to people with disabilities in public universities.

A disability council has also been set up in the gender labour and social development ministry to ensure timely implementation of policies affecting people with disabilities. Sh940m has been set aside for them.

Compiled by Arthur Baguma

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