Kule Godfrey is in his early twenties and teaches Braille at St Agnes Secondary School, which is based near the Rwenzori mountains in Uganda.
Godfrey was born blind and twenty years ago, there were no schools in the large Rwenzori region able to teach blind or deaf children. As a result, Godfrey and his sister Solange, who is also blind, led a fairly isolated existence when they were little.
In 2007 the Rwenzori Association of Parents of Children with Disabilities (RAPCD) was formed as a support group by a handful of parents.
In 2010 this group opened a primary school for deaf or blind children with support from Accomplish. There was one basic room which served as a classroom, kitchen, dormitory and bathroom. There was no water or electricity.
A small band of 15 pioneer pupils (13 deaf and two blind children) enrolled, including Godfrey.
Godfrey enjoyed being part of the thriving school community and rose through the ranks to become head boy. He learned much more beyond academic subjects, including life skills, music lessons, and how to look after all his daily needs. Blind teachers at the schools have been wonderful role models.
In 2015, RAPCD started to build a secondary school called St Agnes with financial support from Accomplish. When it opened in 2016, Godfrey once more became a pioneer pupil.
After completing his education at St Agnes School and passing his exams, Godfrey moved onto another secondary school further away which teaches blind children to a more advanced level. He studied literature, history and religious education.
He is now hoping to go to university but in the meantime his dream to become a teacher has materialised as he is teaching Braille to pupils at St Agnes School. One of his students is his younger sister, Solange.
Solange first followed Godfrey into the RAPCD primary school and then progressed to St Agnes Secondary at the start of this year.
St Agnes now has 350 students, a mix of able-bodied and disabled children, which works brilliantly. Meanwhile, RAPCD’s primary school teaches nearly 200 pupils, all of whom are disabled.
Therapists from the nearby Kyaninga Child Development Centre in Kasese (which Accomplish also supports) visit the school children every week and have made huge improvements, in some cases enabling children to start walking.