Amuru's visually impaired get beehives

Jul 22, 2018

If properly managed, the beneficiaries will be self-reliant and be change agents in their communities

Selected blind persons and those with visual impairment in Pabbo sub-county, Amuru district have been trained in beekeeping and supplied with bee hives as a means to help them become self-sufficient.

Consy Grace Adong said they trained the people on how to invest in beekeeping as a business to help them earn a living.

The 16 beneficiaries were selected from Pabbo sub-county and each got four local bee hives made from palm trees.

Adong said they decided to train and equip the blind with assistance from Hive Uganda because they are neglected persons in society.

"We are trying to train them and prove to them that they are able to earn a living through beekeeping," she said.

Francis Okello Oloya, a blind person who was training the beneficiaries, himself a beneficiary and master trainer for the blind people in Pabbo, said the project is disability friendly and can be managed by all people with disability.

He said if properly managed, the beneficiaries will be self-reliant and be change agents in their communities.

"Sometimes members of the community say the blind people are over dependent, but this time, we want to change that perception," Okello said.

How Okello's life changed

Okello received the training and got 10 bee hives. Seven were colonised and three got damaged. He started harvesting the honey which he sold and bought a bicycle, which is now helping his family. He also uses some in his home.

Okello said there are 120 blind and 70 partially blind persons in the district but there are others who have not been accessed. He said they are yet to be identified and registered and they are always left out of government programs.

Most of the people suffering from blindness in the district is as a result of war especially bomb blast, bullets, measles and other diseases.

For Okello a married man with two children and seven dependents, he was digging in his garden in Pakuba village, Pabbo sub-county when he hit a buried object and it exploded, injuring his eye.

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