VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE IN NANDI TO RECEIVE ICT TRAINING
People Living With Disabilities (PLWDs) in Nandi County, are set to be trained on various skills in order to improve their living standards and be self-reliant.
The training program will equip persons with visual impairment with skills and opportunities in ICT. The goal is to equip the visually impaired with relevant and practical technology skills required to compete in the 21st century and connect them with decent job opportunities and entrepreneurship.
The training will take place at the newly constructed Empowerment Center at Chemundu, Chemundu/Kapng’etuny Ward in Chesumei Sub-county.
The PLWD Empowerment Center will also benefit all categories of people living with disabilities in Nandi.
“Training such people to use ICT will enrich their ICT knowledge, their ability to use the internet, their reading of daily newspapers, their use of ‘Digital Talking Books’, their ability to search job information and will also help them to acquire the skills needed to do certain work. The objective of training is to increase ICT literacy and employability of people,” said Dominic Tulo, Deputy Director for Gender and Social Welfare.
To support the center, The Kenya Society for the Blind (KSB) has donated ten desktops, fusion screen reading and magnification software, type-ability softwares, portable USB speakers and Logitech headphones.
While receiving the donations, the County Secretary Dr Francis Sang MBS appreciated the donations of the devices to the center. “The donations are as per an MoU we signed with the Kenya Society for the Blind in December 2020 on our working together to better empower the visually impaired in the county,” he said.
The Department of Tourism, Gender and Social Welfare has developed and implemented social welfare measures within programmes to mitigate the unique challenges of needs not met for vulnerable groups, i.e. orphans, vulnerable children, persons with disabilities, the youth, elderly and women.
The County Government of Nandi has been availing resources to PLWDs across the county. Through the department of Tourism, Gender and Social Welfare, it has been able to supply 343 tools of trade, among them salon kits and sewing machines, to support disabled people earn an income and be able to sustain their livelihood.
Besides the tools of trade, the county has largely majored on assistive devices where it has been able to supply over 5000 assistive devices which includes wheelchairs, canes, walkers, mobility cards and crutches in the last four years.
Present during the donations were Samson Waweru, Chairman Kenya Society of the Blind and other officials.