Imagine Becoming Blind Over Night

This is the story of a woman who is challenging the prejudices and stereotypes around blindness.

Sylvia Kalibeela does not know what caused her to lose her sight over night 10 years ago when she was 20 years old The Daily Mail reports. The worst part of the experience was being torn apart from her 2 young boys.

After her husband started mistreating her because of her disability, Sylvia, now 30, felt she had no choice but to leave their home in Masindi, Uganda, and was subsequently banned from visiting them.
But after seven months at a school where she learned to use a knitting machine, as well as being taught skills such as using a white cane and reading braille, she hopes she can win her children back.

From the Mail Online

Her story highlights the stigma and prejudice associated with disability.

'Before I went blind, my husband loved me,' she recalled. 'When I couldn't see anymore, he said I had become useless and that he had to nurse me like a child. He began mistreating me and I made a decision to leave him.'

...nobody thought Sylvia would be able to look after her children, so they remained with her husband. Sylvia was stopped from even visiting her children and was only allowed the occasional phone call. 'I asked him to bring them to see me,' she explained. 'But he refused.'

Sylvia went to live with her parents. Her

friends soon dropped away because they didn't know how to help her and didn't want to be seen walking with her.

Then she heard about a program by Sigsavers. At a vocational school in Kampala they taught her how to operate a knitting machine. They also taught her essential life skills like how to use a white can cane and reading and writing in Braille.

'I stopped looking at myself as a worthless person,' she said. Now Sylvia is hoping to inspire other people with disabilities.
'I have learned that given a chance, a disabled person can be equally productive,' she said.
'This programme has saved me from begging. Before, I used to beg for almost everything.
'But with these skills, I can work and provide for myself. And that makes me very happy.'

Now Sylvia dreams of starting her own training program to help other disabled women.

A summary of article 8 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of PWDs says: "Countries must raise awareness of the rights, capabilities and contributions of people with disabilities. Countries must challenge stereotypes and prejudices relating to people with disabilities through campaigning, education, media and awareness-raising programmes.

It cannot be emphasized more: Disability is not inability.