14 Aug 2014

Orange Botswana has donated learning equipment to Ministry of Education Skills and Development (MoESD) for learners with special education needs.

The equipment pack worth P156 000 comprises of hearing aids for learners with hearing impairment and reading equipment for visually impaired learners which will benefit more than 150 students across the country.

The package also came with an open book software, camera and portable audio player.

The equipment also take snap shots of print text from notebooks into a camera and then the computer converts text to voice and reads out loud to the students.

The hearing aids assist in managing hearing levels of learners who have a hearing impairment. 

The aids are mounted on to the learners’ ears to allow them to control the amount and degree of hearing that they need at any given point in time, be it inside or outside class.

Handing over the equipment on Wednesday, the chief executive officer of Orange Botswana, Mr Philippe Baudin said as Orange Botswana they share the same vision with the government to see people with disability being fully integrated into society and empowered in order to contribute to sustainable development of the economy.

He said the support comes as an extension of their annual sponsorship of the Botswana Examination Council excellence awards where they sponsor the special education category.

Orange Botswana has been supporting the category for over four years and they have found it important to create a more supportive learning environment to improve further their performance in the final examinations as well as day to day learning, he added.

Mr Baudin acknowledged the openness of government in allowing partnerships with the private sector such as Orange Botswana to address various issues of national and allowing them to contribute to the development of the country.

Furthermore, Mr Baudin said Orange has partnered with government and other NGOs in the development of education, healthcare, agriculture, empowerment of women and girls, disability and capacity building in entrepreneurship especially amongst the youth.

Giving a word of appreciation, the acting permanent secretary in the Ministry of Education and Skills Development, Mr Peter Choto said this kind of assistance was very helpful and appealed for more from the private sector.

Marobela brigade will be the beneficiaries of the equipment while other colleges with visually impaired students will be identified.

The initiative is the one of the many initiatives by Orange foundation to facilitate quality of education for people living with disability.  ENDS