Library of Congress Kenya Field Director Shares Computer Donation & Enthusiasm

[photo caption:Thika Primary School for the Blind students receive computer donation delivered by Library of Congress Field Director Pamela Howard Reguindin]

On October 25th, we were privileged to receive high profile guests from the Library of Congress, based in the US Embassy – Kenya. Field Director Pamela Howard Reguindin, accompanied by her driver Meshack, were first welcomed in the main office and given a brief historical background of the Thika Primary School for the Blind and its achievements.

The Field Director kindly delivered computer donations, which were happily received by the students, teachers, support staff and inABLE team. She also gave a “NATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL POSTER” sponsored by the US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle, bearing the image of President Abraham Lincoln.

Our guests were then taken to the school library where they found the students reading books of their choice. The Field Director was impressed to see the number of books available and the neatness of the library. While moving exploring the library, the Director's attention was caught by a popular children’s chapter book. In fact she suggested that the book be read to the students. The title of the book “The Hostile Hospital” is the eighth novel in the book series A Series of Unfortunate Events by author Lemony Snicket and illustrated by Illustrator Brett Helquist.

After the library tour, we moved to the main computer lab where students demonstrated their skills by adding more weight to the school motto which says "DISABILITY IS NOT INABILITY”. The Field Director commended the inABLE team for their good work connecting the students to the world of technology.

Early Computer Experience Benefits Class 3 & 4

Joy and happiness were in full expression when class 3 and 4 learned that they would finally be invited into the computer program. Initially, the computer instructors were concerned that young boys and girls, who still require a lot of time to play, would struggle to settled down and listen. This was not the case, as these young learners proved to be very obedient and quick learners, though some did require extra attention when to learning the keyboard because their fingers were stiff and not steady.

Stepping into an unknown environment is always a bit unnerving; however in this case we truly experienced the fun of teaching young blind children. These fearless young learners have progressed splendidly and are already very good at typing. We are now working towards merging them into the main stream, simply because they are extremely good.

This early exposure to technology is a bridge that will help these students access more learning and sharing opportunities available online and in emerging mobile technology.

French Embassy – Nairobi Team Sees Computer Skills of Visually Challenged Close-up

A team of visitors from the French Embassy – Nairobi were ushered into the Thika Primary School for the Blind computer lab several weeks ago by the school head teacher Mr. Jotham Makokha. The purpose of their visit was to learn how computers were being used to empower the blind and visually impaired students.

After a brief introduction of who we are ( inABLE) followed by a review of assistive technology in IT, a tech-savvy student named Mwololo took center stage to show our French Embassy - Nairobi visitors how visually challenged students navigate the web. Being an avid football fan, Mwololo decided to visit his favorite website - supersport.com – to find updates he missed during the holiday. After learning about his favorite teams, Mwololo moved on to the daily nation news, where he again sought out the sports segment, giving a clear indication of his sincere love for football.

As it turns out, football was a shared interest. Mwololo and the visitors had an enjoyable exchange. Everyone was impressed by Mwololo’s computer skills.

InAble thanks our French Embassy – Nairobi guests Faloince Lacroix, Cland Frey, Julian Mark, and Phantus Wambiya – Kenyan for their interest in how blind and visually challenged learners are using computers to develop their IT, current events, and social networking skills.