STORY: ALNUR SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND

DURATION: 4:21
SOURCE: AMISOM PUBLIC INFORMATION
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INFORMATION
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/SOMALI/NATS
DATELINE: 31/10/2015, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA
SHOTLIST
1.
Wide shot, Alnur School for the Blind
2.
Med shot, Alnur School for the Blind
3.
Close up, Alnur School for the Blind
4.
Wide shot, students from Alnur School for the Blind in class
5.
Med shot, students from Alnur School for the Blind in class
6.
Wide shot, a teacher facilitates a lesson in class
7.
Med shot, students from Alnur School for the Blind in class
8.
Close up, a student reads through her braille paper
9.
Med shot, a teacher facilitates a lesson in class
10.
Med shot, students from Alnur School for the Blind in class
11.
Wide shot, a teacher facilitates a lesson in class
12.
Med shot, a teacher facilitates a lesson in class
13.
Close up, a teacher facilitates a lesson in class
14.
Close up, a student from Alnur School for the Blind in class
15.
SOUNDBITE: (SOMALI) IBRAHIM ABDULLAHI MOHAMUD,
PRINCIPAL, ALNUR SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND.
When we first started this school we started with 7 students. The reason
for that small number of student was that the parents of the blind children
didnt know the blind people can learn and became educated person.
Therefore we were doing a lot of awareness to encourage the blind
people to be educated. After the war intensified in Mogadishu, from 2012
Hormuud Telecommunication Foundation took the responsibility of funding
all the expenses of the school. In the last 3 years school was growing on
dynamically.
16.
Med shot, a student reads through his braille paper
17.
Close up, a student reads through his braille paper
18.
Wide shot, a teacher facilitates a lesson in class
19.
Med shot, a teacher facilitates a lesson in class
20.
Close up, a teacher facilitates a lesson in class
21.
Med shot, students from Alnur School for the Blind in class
22.
Close up, a student from Alnur School for the Blind in class
23.
Med shot, students from Alnur School for the Blind in class
24.
Close up, students from Alnur School for the Blind in class

25.
Close up, a student reads through his braille paper
26.
SOUNDBITE: MOHAMED HASSAN MOHAMED,
HEADTEACHER, ALNUR SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND.
They have ability to do everything they want. They can use the mobile
phones , even they can use IPhones freely. They take the subject called
computer science that they learn how to open the internet.how to open
Facebook. How to discover every web pages. They are freely doing as
they like. But if they get more support, I hope they will be the leaders of
this country.
27.
Med shot, a student reads through his braille paper
28.
Wide shot, students from Alnur School for the Blind in class
29.
Med shot, students from Alnur School for the Blind in class
30.
Close up, a student from Alnur School for the Blind in class
31.
Wide shot, students from Alnur School for the Blind in class
32.
Med shot, students write on their braille papers during a lesson
33.
Close up, a student writes on his braille paper during a lesson
34.
SOUNDBITE: IBRAHIM ABDIFATAH ADEN, STUDENT,
ALNUR SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND.
Im in class 5. In the future I want to be a translator.
35.
Wide shot, students from Alnur School for the Blind in a
computer class
36.
Med shot, a student from Alnur School for the Blind in a
computer class
37.
Close up, a computer screen
38.
Med shot, a student keys in some characters on the keyboard
39.
SOUNDBITE: DR. SAID HUSSEIN GEDI, EYE SPECIALIST.
We have to develop more educated people who know how to give care to
those who are blind and those partially blind should get low vision lenses.
We see theres a lot of deficiency but from where we came from, I think
theres a lot of change and we think in the future we will have a lot of
development especially in that sector.
40.
Wide shot, dormitory area of Alnur School for the Blind
41.
Med shot, a student on his bed
42.
Close up, a student on his bed
SCRIPT
The Arabic word Alnur means the light. It is therefore not strange that scores
of blind children come to the Alnur School for the Blind in Mogadishu, Somalia
to illuminate their lives in a quest for a brighter future.
Located in Hordan district, the school provides free lifeline education that
would otherwise not be possible to children with special needs in the horn of
Africa country-thanks to Hormuud Telecommunications Company.
There are no readily available statistics about the number of disabled persons
in Somalia. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 10 percent of
the worlds population is composed of disabled people.
A 2011 report titled Disability Rights in Somalia released by the Swedish
International Development Cooperation Agency notes that the number of
disabilities in Somalia increases by 20 people daily, and suggests 12-15

percent of the population is disabled. Somalia has an estimated population of

about 12.5m.
Started in 2005 by Somalis in the diaspora, touched by the plight of blind
children back at home, the 10 year institution has had a roller- coaster
existence due to the wars that have afflicted the country.
When we first started this school we started with seven students. The reason
for that small number of student was that the parents of the blind children did
not know that blind people can learn and become educated. Therefore we
were doing a lot of awareness to encourage the blind people to be educated.
After the war intensified in Mogadishu. From 2012 Hormuud
Telecommunication Foundation took the responsibility of funding all the
expenses of the school. In the last three years the school has grown steadily,
Ibrahim Abdullahi Mohamud, the principle of the Alnur blind school says.
The mixed school, which boasts a boarding section, presently has 84
students-27 girls and 57 boys with the boarding section only open to 30 boys
which means the other 54 students are day scholars. They are picked from
home and dropped back by the school bus, donated by Hormud. The school
is neat, serene and homely, boasting a fresh coat of paint. Here, students
spruced in their bright uniforms of white and orange tops find their way around
effortlessly and are visibly at ease with one another. They walk around without
help, a sign that they have mastered their way around, in line with the school's
philosophy of self-reliance.
Apart from painting the institution and buying the school bus, Hormuud meets
the entire cost of the schools operations, including accommodation for the
students.
During a visit to the school, a teacher is seen conducting class as others read
the braille, while the rest, with the aid of software, are typing away on
computers in the laboratory, all of which would not have been possible without
the school. The school has no braille typewriter and the students have to use
the incredibly arduous method of pricking paper to write the braille.
They have ability to do everything they like. They can now use mobile
phones. They can even use IPhones freely. They take a subject called
computer science that they learn how to enter the internet and open
Facebook. How to discover web pages. They can do whatever they like but if
we get more support rather than this, they will be the future for Somalia,
Mohamed Hassan Mohamed, the head teacher says.
Persons with disabilities in Somalia as in many other countries, face
numerous challenges that result in their exclusion from the mainstream of
society, making it difficult for them to access their fundamental social, political
and economic rights.
Many make their way through life impoverished, abandoned, uneducated,
malnourished, discriminated against and vulnerable. For them, life is a daily
struggle to survive. Whether they live in urban centers or in rural areas, they
share the same problems. They are largely excluded from essential services
and lack protection of the family and community, and often at risk of
exploitation and abuse. Factors contributing to this pathetic situation are many
and varied but include poverty, unemployment, social isolation, and
environmental, economic and institutional barriers.
Despite the challenges, the school has defied the odds to deliver. In the
school we use the braille letters and print braille equipment. The braille

equipment is not available in our country. It is very expensive. We have a lot

of difficulty in finding the braille typewriter. The braille equipment that we are
using is outdated. It was used in 1980s. It is not compatible with new modern
world where internet and many other things help you with your education,
Ibrahim Abdullahi Mohamud, the principle of the school says.
The effort of the school has not been in vain. It has infused confidence and
optimism in the students, filling their hitherto blank lives now with aspirations
never imagined. This is evident in Ibrahim Abdifatah Aden, a student in class
five.
In the future I want to be a translator if Allah says, Ibrahim Abdifatah Aden
says with a smile beaming on his face.
END