Centre For Visually Impaired Children

CEVIC Uganda was founded by a group of parents in 2009, after realizing a growing number of them had children with visual Impairment. The children had no education opportunities as ordinary schools do not accept our children. The other challenges the families face are financial, psychosocial and moral support. The community in its current set up provides little or nothing in relation to sensitizing the people about the plight of the visually impaired children and mostly left alone to grow and graduate as street beggars.

Generally most blind people have a lot of potential when empowered through education and training unfortunately, due the ignorance brought about by cultural barriers, environmental barriers; attitudinal barriers exempt them to discover their talents hence they normally resort to survive by begging. In our society blindness is very much associated with poverty, yet poverty normally goes hand in hand with illiteracy and ignorance. When it comes to children, the blind are normally left in the backyard and most likely have to miss out on all opportunities of life like;- the right to education, health, sports, the joy of playing in order to enjoy their childhood. Disabled children are ordinarily treated as second class children and not given equal treatment and opportunities like their ordinary counter parts. With regard to education, the blind children have been rejected by ordinary schools.

It is against this back ground that the parents of the Visually Impaired Children started a Community based organisation (CBO) school project aimed at ensuring that their children find an appropriate education and training environment. Under their CBO CEVIC Uganda, a pre-school (this is the first of its kind in the whole country) and primary school for classes P1 & P2 were started and launched on 6th February 2012, subsequent classes will be added every academic year.

CEVIC Uganda places a high priority with cultivating adaptive cultural events for families with children who are blind / visually impaired, the most important family event under review being the annual Christmas party where motivational speakers interactaction with parents and children with visual impairment and other disabilities.