Education: Organisation appeals to FG for specialised books for children with Albinism

Restore Foundation for Child Sight, an NGO,  on Sunday appealed to the Federal Government to create policies that would help children with Albinism perform better in their education.

Dr Halima Alimi, the Founder of the organisation, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

Alimi said that children born with albinism suffered eye problems which start from the inception of pregnancy.

She added that creating policies that would mandate publishers to print books in bigger and bolder texts would go a long way in ensuring that children with low vision would be relieved.

“All these will help bring books closer to the children and improve their vision so that they can read better, become better citizens and contribute to national development.

“Children with albinism are just as smart as any other children but they tend to perform poorly in class and drop out because of their visual defect which comes with their genetic disorder.

“So, if the government can help address these issues, it will go a long way in helping them mitigate the challenges they go through in schools,” she said.

The founder added that the process would ultimately bring out `Eye Child Health Protection Legislation` to be an enforced law in favour of the albinos in the country.

“My foundation is just one year old and I have  donated over 300 pairs of photo chronic glasses to albinos.

“We have also donated 1,935 bottles of oil, trained 707 teachers and carried out 76 eye surgeries to the children suffering from albinism,“Alimi added.

Alimi added that that their challenge was not only limited to poor vision but that they were also exposed to skin and hair defect that need consultation of experts for proper care.

“So, we look forward to continuing reaching out to children especially, in less disadvantaged communities and orphanages where we can help them with their challenges,” she said. (NAN)