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Dosso (Agenzia Fides) - "There are more and more, almost a hundred in Gaya and Dosso, with ever better prospects for their education and ophthalmological care," writes Father Rafael Casamayor, who works as a missionary in Dosso, about the situation of children with visual impairment in the communities in which he works.
A house has been purchased in Gaya and is already in use, another is being set up in Dosso and we plan to open it soon to be able to prepare a good training program during the summer", explained the religious of the Society of African Missions.
Kaaryan ma dumi is the new organization dedicated to children and young people with visual impairment from the communities of Dosso and Gaia, which means 'May the light always shine'. Created from the union of the two associations Zankey Handuriya in Dosso and CIES in Gaya, both of which care for visually impaired children, the organizers want to combine their efforts and thus improve the care of these children. "Light to live, grow, love and prepare for the future," added Dieudonné, who cares for these children in Gaya. "The two charities have the same goals and these children light up as soon as they experience interest, affection and respect for their situation," he emphasized. The two associations work on the social integration of these children who are seen as a burden or even a curse by their families and society in general. "To achieve today's result, it was necessary to have several years of experience and a lot of educational work, human support and social inclusion of children, as well as a long and complicated training process. The results achieved so far are positive if one takes into account the change in mentality that has occurred among some parents, in the society and among the children themselves," he emphasized. "A few days ago we were invited to a meeting on the Nigerien education system to form a working group on education in the Dosso region," said Dieudonné. "We were able to see for ourselves the seriousness of the education problem, which is often ignored by large non-governmental organizations and also by the Ministry of Education itself." "The good news," concluded Dieudonné, "is that we will have a new center 'Ville de Sádaba', the city of Father Rafael, who has always collaborated with us. We are in the process of setting it up and reorganizing it. May the love and solidarity we feel for these children grow ever stronger and unite us more and more." Together with the National Union of the Blind of Niger (UNAN), the two associations “Zankey Handuriya” and CIES organized an event to raise awareness about the rights of these blind children, which was attended by numerous parents. They also organize a training course called "Parent's Guide" to help parents recognize the different opportunities their children have to improve themselves and achieve new goals. The aim is to help parents to know and demand the rights of their children in society and to be aware of these rights. (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 30/1/2024)
