Limpho Sello
Lesotho National League of Visually Impaired Persons Executive Director, Keneuoe Semphi, says Basotho with eyesight challenges remain marginalised, and has called on the relevant authorities to ensure such discrimination comes to an end.
Ms Semphi told the Sunday Express that a workshop held by youths with visual-impairment last week sought to highlight the many problems they face in their daily lives, with the hope they are addressed by government and other relevant stakeholders.
“Visually-impaired Basotho still face a number of challenges which we hope the government and other stakeholders will look into as a matter of urgency. Some of our many challenges are lack of equipment in schools, such as reading material, which impacts so negatively on the students’ performance.
“The other challenge is a shortage of teachers with the relevant specialist skills. Because some of the teachers are not qualified to deal with students with visual-impairment, they fail to spot their problems on time, further putting them at a disadvantage,” she said.
Ms Semphi further said there is still a shortage of schools for students with eyesight problems in Lesotho, which she said government also needs to address to afford every citizen equal opportunities.
“Besides these challenges, we also looked at the issue of self-confidence, which is yet another huge problem for our people. Because of this lack of self-assurance, visually-impaired people are overlooked for critical matters such as employment, which we also want the relevant stakeholders to be aware of.
“Those who are considered normal are given priority and we are often left out, which is one of the things that makes us lose our confidence, yet we would be having the same knowledge and skills.
“One would find that even in the workplace, we are considered incapable of doing certain duties yet we would have the same training and professional expertise as those considered normal.
“I want to believe this was a fruitful workshop and hope that the concerns we raised are going to be addressed by those in power.”
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