Gulu Primary School Blind Annex students are now better able to take class notes with the newly designed stylus for hand writing braille with the accompaniment of slate. A graduate of the Blind Annex some years back, Onen Bazil, worked closely with his sighted colleague, Elias Muhoozi, an advanced programmer with extensive experience in 3D design and printing, to develop a stronger, more comfortable handle which is attached to the sharp point.
Bazil and Elias also collaborated with a sighted teacher who can visually read Braille and teaches Maths at the GPS Blind Annex to design an easy-to-use Abacus. As talking calculators tend to wear down easily and are expensive, the 3D-printed version is more durable and designed specifically to fit their fingers. The Abacus is an ancient tool used to teach learners how to solve both simple and complex math problems and is very commonly used to teach blind and visually impaired students.
In the photo, you see the students testing out the new products. The feedback was very positive from both the students and their teachers. O&P-UG donates them to the school.
Bazil and Elias plan to share their design with other Primary Blind and VI schools within Uganda. Their initiatives are making a big difference in the learning capacity of Primary students.
