Last week, Fred Haga, Director, Special Needs, Ministry of Education in Kenya, visited the Likoni School for the Blind with a team from the Ministry and partners. Following a meeting at the high school, the distinguished group visited the primary school and our Computer-Labs-for-the-Blind program.

Director Haga was impressed with the computer lab and recognized inABLE’s collaboration with the Ministry of Education. According to Martin Kieti, Director of the Kenya Union For Blind, the inABLE computer labs for the blind have great potential as hubs for accessible reading materials for special needs students.

“Believe in your limitless potential. Your only constraints are those you impose on yourself.” Roy T. Bennett

InABLE has established eight assistive computer technology labs in six special schools for the blind, including Thika Primary School for the Blind, Thika High School for the Blind, St. Lucy’s Primary School for the Blind, St. Lucy’s High School for the Blind, St. Oda Primary School for the Blind, Likoni Primary School for the Blind, and Likoni High School for the Blind, since 2009.

The inABLE Computer-Labs-for-the-Blind Program has employed 20 assistive-technology computer instructors and has enrolled over 14,500 blind and visually impaired students and teachers, as well as providing over 43,000 hours of assistive technology computer skills training.

Written by Esther Njeri Mwangi, Public Relations Officer at inABLE

Hudson Asiema, a self-taught developer and co-founder/CEO of Deaf eLimu Plus Limited, is a rising African developer. He created the Fingerspelling Pro for Kids mobile application, which is an alphabet game in sign language for hearing impaired, deaf children and their families to learn, play, and practice letter handshapes. He is the inaugural winner of inABLE’s Digital Accessibility Innovations Award.

Developed during the pandemic, the Fingerspelling Pro App has been downloaded by over 40 users. inABLE is currently collaborating with Hudson and programming experts and developers from the Rochester Institute of Technology in the United States to improve and enhance the fingerspelling app’s user experience. on Asiema, a self-taught programmer and co-founder/CEO of Deaf.

Speaking to Victoria Amunga in a recent Voice of America (VoA) interview, Hudson said that he was inspired to create the App because of the difficulties that deaf and hard of hearing children have in finding accessible apps that can help them learn basic language skills, such as alphabets, which are widely available for children who are not deaf.

According to Stephanie Njeri, a 13-year-old deaf student, remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic could have been difficult. She has been able to keep up with her studies and complete her homework on time, thanks to the Kenya Sign Language Finger Spelling application.