A school building featuring special amenities — computers with Braille software and Braille dictionaries — for visually impaired girls has been inaugurated in the capital with
the financial assistance of the government of Japan.
The Embassy of Japan has donated $102,057 for the construction of the school under its Grant Assistance for Grass-roots Human Security Projects scheme and JICA Bangladesh Office delivered English to English Braille dictionary for the students.
Japanese ambassador in Dhaka Shiro Sadoshima inaugurated the new school building, located at 77, Senpara, Mirpur, on Wednesday in presence of Chief Representative of JICA Bangladesh Office Takao Toda, along with the Executive Director of SHED Board, School Management Committee, students and their guardians, according a Japan Embassy release.
Speaking on the occasion, ambassador Sadoshima said: ‘Education is one of the key elements of basic human needs and provides the grounds for social and economic advancement.’
He also mentioned that the new education facilities need to be used effectively to realize maximum benefits for the disabled students.
Chief Representative of JICA Bangladesh said persons with disabilities are one of the most potentially powerful locomotives towards inclusive and dynamic development of this country.
‘We should involve them in development activities and they should not be deprived of their basic needs,’ he said.
An NGO, SHED Board, which has been operating a school for blind students since 1977, is implementing the GGHSP project and is the recipient organization of the Braille dictionaries.
The newly constructed building will allow 40 new students, along with 40 existing students, to study in an environment that is well-equipped for their needs.
The donation of Braille dictionaries will enhance the educational attainment of the children.
Trainings and seminars for blind girls and their families are also scheduled on the weekends, aiming to foster deeper understanding of the disabled children amongst the community.
It is reported that 95 per cent of visually impaired girls in Bangladesh do not have the opportunity to attend school and around 80 per cent of them have no access to education at all. This project (GGHSP) is expected to contribute to the amelioration of such problems.
-With New Age input
