Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
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Dosso (Agenzia Fides) - King of darkness, blind, danawo, koubey koy, in the Djerma language of the peoples who live in the westernmost part of Niger, are some of the insults that young blind students in the inclusive Catholic school of Gaya suffer every day. "The phenomenon of blindness in the region is very widespread and there are many children who seek and dream of light", wrote Father Rafael Casamayor, a missionary in Dosso, to Fides. "They dream of breaking all taboos, despite being called the 'king of darkness'. These young children do not have an easy life but they have a lot of energy and are full of hope", adds the priest of the Society for African Missions (SMA).
"You see them, you hear them, and that's what counts in the end" - confirmed the head of the Center for and Social Initiatives and Aid (CIES) which welcomes and trains blind children in Gaya. "They are intelligent and determined children who are happy with the opportunity offered to them by the school with the aim of being able to be useful men in the future. One of our students, passionate about music, has promised us that he will be able to obtain the best diploma possible!" Another student decided to drop out of school after several of his classmates insulted him. "Furious, he stopped going to class, preferring, as he said, to beg in the streets rather than being insulted by his own classmates".
"His teacher informed us and so we decided to visit him at his home to talk to his family" - explained the CIES official. We found out that he was an orphan and that he lived with his older brother. After speaking to the boy and his brother, we also spoke to teachers, parents and classmates, urging them to avoid insults or unhappy expressions and emphasizing that these children have the same right as anyone else to be respected and treated with dignity in society". (RC/AP) (Agenzia Fides, 31/1/2022)
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