Salvation Army School for the Blind and Visually Impaired welcomed a donation of 100 brand new Braille machines last Friday, describing them as critical to the more than 120 students’ learning and development.

“A Braille machine to a blind child is like a pen or pencil to a sighted child…this donation comes at a time when we need to raise the literacy and numeracy standards for our school, and this is a pathway for achieving that,” Principal Iyeke Erharuyi told guests at the presentation ceremony.

The machines were acquired through an initiative named ‘Follow the Trail, Invest in Braille’ launched last April by Digicel Foundation in collaboration with Open Door Jamaica Foundation which secured the support of 35 sponsors through various social media campaigns.

Digicel Foundation Chief Executive Officer Charmaine Daniels said that the initial target was to donate 50 machines. However, due to what she described as remarkable support from sponsors and stakeholders, the goal was swiftly met, prompting them to raise the target to 100 machines.

“When we spoke to the principal, he told us that there were 132 students here and 26 working Braille machines, and we were shocked, but this gave the foundation a wake-up call and we immediately started to think about what we can do to help,” she explained.

Daniels assured sponsors that steps are being taken to ensure the maintenance of the machines.

“We are currently in discussion with Perkins Braillers, the makers of these machines, and my team is working on a programme and a strategy to see how we can have three persons trained in the maintenance and basic repairs of these machines,” she said.

While expressing his appreciation for the machines, Principal Erharuyi noted additional areas within the school requiring improvement. Directing a plea to Minister of Education Fayval Williams, he emphasised the need for increased financial support to hire more staff and address electrical adjustments to meet the school’s demands.

Williams, in her keynote address, assured Erharuyi that going forward the ministry will do more to provide further assistance, recognising the school’s role within the special needs community.

“The Government currently provides almost $40 million to the school but obviously there are needs in addition to [this] and so I commit to working with you. We have a Special Needs Unit at the ministry and we want to ensure that they are adequately serving the needs here,” she explained.

Open Door Jamaica Foundation Executive Director Terri-Karelle Reid used the opportunity to advocate increased attention from both Jamaicans and the Government towards the needs of visually impaired people, stressing the significance of inclusivity in addressing these needs.

“We cannot boast about being a modern society or a modern country if we do not think about how we are going to accommodate, facilitate and cater to members and citizens who have disabilities,” she said.

“Do not boast about employment rates if, within those employment rates, we have not set up policies, structures or recruiting processes that diminish the discrimination that people with disability face,” she argued.