GOVERNMENT COMMITTED TO EMPOWERMENT OF THE BLIND-MASEMENE

The Minister of Justice, Human Rights and Rehabilitation who is also the President of Lesotho National League of the Visually Impaired Persons (LNLVIP), Mr. Refiloe Masemene says rehabilitation of the blind to promote their self reliance and welfare is not only the responsibility of the association but  an effort which has to be done jointly by the association and the government.

Mr. Masemene indicated that the association is currently involved in a project of Rehabilitation of the Blind Persons in which both the association and the government are directly involved, to ensure that the blind persons in the country are empowered to earn their living in a better way. He said the government is showing great willingness of supporting the development of the blind persons such that it has contributed M174, 000 this year to the association to meet its expenses of infrastructure at its Training Centre for the blind persons.

The Minister indicated that also as part of the government's commitment to the rehabilitation of the blind persons, the government signed an agreement with the association for the implementations of the project in which it undertook to provide at least two teachers, two social workers and instructors for vocational skills, at the training centre and to pay salaries for all staff provided by the government at the centre.

He said the project whose main activities include mobilisation of members of the association, leadership training for the members, building capacity of secretariat of the association and establishment of the association's branches will empower the visually  impaired persons  to cope in life with their visual disability and to be self- reliant. The project started earlier this year and it will be completed in 2006. The project  is sponsored by the Norwegian Association of the Blind and Partially Sighted, in Norway.

10 October,2002