Positive changes at the Institute of the Blind
in Bolivia

by Anna Janota, Development Worker

Anna was placed with Instituto Boliviano de la Ceguera as an Institutional Strengthener

"My two years in Bolivia have come to an end. I am now in my last days working for the Institute for the Blind and am pleased to say that we have seen some really positive changes over the last six months. 

Thanks to funding support from Irish Aid, we have received resources to implement eight training workshops focused on Rights Education, Citizen Participation and local Government Capacity Building.
The workshops have been a great success, with an average of twenty members of the institute attending each of them.  We also had the opportunity to travel out to the province of Monteagudo (a rural area) and carry out awareness-raising workshops with the local authorities, as well as with blind and visually impaired members of the community. 

As part of “Disability Day” (15th October), we participated in an event organized by the Committee for People with Disabilities. All the disabled people's organisations and institutes provided information about the work that they do and promoted disability awareness.  We designed and printed leaflets, which is a first for the Institute for the Blind Chuquisaca!  Not only is the event a great awareness-raising exercise, it also enables different organisations to come together, provide mutual support and exchange information.

We have been advancing in other areas too.  We have had two university students working in the offices - funded by the university San Francisco Xavier. I have been working with one student, David, to help create an Audio and Braille library in the offices. We have catalogued the books and information, and the library is now open to the members of the institute.  All our training workshops have been recorded on cassettes and these are available in the library as well.  David has also been teaching Braille to adult members of the institute three times a week. 

The other student, Prudencio, has been teaching folkloric music classes in the Aprecia Education Centre for the Blind and Visually Impaired.  We visited several potential funders to try and secure money for newer instruments in better condition, but unfortunately with no luck so far.  However, we have coordinated with the Municipal Department of Culture, and, together with Prudencio, I wrote a project proposal that we have presented to the Municipal Mayor of Sucre.  

We have been able to buy six computers, six scanners, three computers and furniture for our virtual library - all thanks to funding we obtained from the German NGO, CBM.  The South American NGO, FOAL, have provided us with an IT teacher (who is blind) and we are now running a six month computer course for 14 members of the institute.   Those who complete the course will receive a diploma recognised by the Ministry of Education.  We have also negotiated four grant-supported university students to work in the institute for the next academic year.  Three will be blind or visually impaired and the fourth, who has already started working with us, is non disabled.  She is an IT student and has begun teaching basic computer skills to the students of Aprecia, as well as helping the office with IT problems and assisting in the FOAL computer courses. 

Finally, I have continued working with the Mutual Society for the Blind. Their most recent success was the Cultural Festival that they organised in October. It was an initiative thought up by the board of directors as a way of raising awareness and fundraising. I helped orientate the members of the Society in different areas, for example, coordinating with the Municipal Ballet of Sucre for a volunteer to help choreograph a folkloric dance, as well as publicising the event and selling tickets.  The members of the Institute for the Blind, the Mutual Society for the Blind and Aprecia provided a show filled with music, dancing and poetry.  They were well received by their audience and even a local television station came to film the show!  Prudencio’s students performed some folkloric songs, playing panpipes, guitars, charrangos (banjo-like instrument) and percussion.  It was a real testament to his hard work over the last few months. 

If asked what the greatest visible achievement has been over the last six months, I would have to say the noticeable change in the members of the Institute and the Mutual Society.  They are motivated and more confident. They have embraced the training workshops, really enjoying the opportunity to learn new skills and improve their education. They are keen to keep advancing in their work, and to fight for their rights. They have become my friends, as well as my colleagues, over this last year - and I’m really proud of what they have achieved.

Although I am moving onto new pastures, another development worker will be taking my place to continue with the work and the Irish Aid project, which still has another two years to go.  There is a long way to go but I am sure that the blind and visually impaired members of the department of Chuquisaca will be moving onwards and upwards!"

November 2008