Orange donates to the Disabled
Lerato Maleke | Monday August 18, 2014 15:27
In a glamorous event which took place at the MoESD headquarters, Baudin had an opportunity to showcase the equipment pack that comprises of 16 hearing aids for learners with hearing impairement and two reading equipment for visually impaired learners, which he said would benefit more than 150 students across the country.
He said that the equipment for visual impairment will directly facilitate learning of the students, by converting text into audio for listening (for those who are blind) and the hearing aids will be connected to the learners’ ears for improved hearing.
The Orange boss said that this is one of the many initiatives by his Orange Foundation to facilitate quality of education for People Living with Disability.
When handing over the equipment Baudin said that there are three most striking things when it comes to this country; the serenity in the relationship between government and the private sector as well as the consultative nature of government; the on-going partnerships between the government and the private sector to support national priority areas aimed at development of this country at all the different levels; and the consistency of Orange DNA of being socially responsible, which is also found in all Orange affiliates.
He said that all these three enabling characteristics found in Botswana are the basis of why Orange was donating the equipment. Moreover, he said that they share the same vision with government to see to it that people with disability are being fully integrated in society and empowered, so as to contribute to sustainable development of the economy.
The special reading equipment package comes with an OpenBook software, camera and portable audio player. These devices and software work by recording educational materials for students to listen to and the equipment also takes snap shots of print text from notebooks into a camera, then the computer converts text to voice and reads out loud to the students.
Baudin said that these devices are expected to benefit more than 150 students with visual impairment in three different primary schools over the next five years.
Coming to the hearing Aids, he said that they assist in managing hearing levels of learners who have a hearing impairment and that they are mounted onto the learners ears to allow them to control the amount and degree of hearing that they need at any given point in time, “be it inside or outside class”, he explained.
He revealed that they will be distributed to Marubela Brigade, which already has a total number of eight students. However, he said that with such an important facility, the number of students is likely to increase to 41, adding that they will make learning easier.
The Marubela Brigade has a school of computers and other courses like dress making and carpentry will be added in future.
“The devices are meant to aid in the quality of education that the learners receive,” he said.
Baudin added that this support comes as an extension of their annual sponsorship of the Botswana Examination Council (BEC) Excellence Awards, where Orange sponsored the Special Education category.
“We sponsored excelling students with visual and hearing impairment and Orange has been supporting this category for over four years”, he explained, adding that they found it important to work with the ministry to create a more supportive learning environment to improve further their performance in the final examinations as well as day to day learning.
“Our participation in such kind of cause is embodied in one of our values of being `’responsible and we express this value through the Orange Foundation”.
This is a body within Orange that implements “our philanthropic activities”. Further, the Orange boss said that they acknowledge the openness of government in allowing sustainable partnerships with the private sector to address various issues of national concern and allowing contribution to the development of the country.
He revealed that they have partnered with the Ministry of Health to provide connectivity and telecommunication equipment for remote diagnostic services, which is known as telemedicine or mobile health. He said that Orange Botswana continue to explore other ways in which they can be of assistance in the broader healthcare system.
For instance Orange has a learning programme with the University of Botswana School of Medicine, where it is providing the technology to help students maintain a connection with their lecturers and library resources while they are on the field. In 2013 Orange built and equipped a pre-school for the Centre for the Blind and Disabled (CABD) in Mahalapye.
This was in support of access to education for early childhood development for pupils living with disability. Early this year, Orange donated computers and connected wireless internet for the Special Education unit at St Peters Primary School in Mmadinare.
Baudin said this was to allow easy access of information by their teachers on managing these children and their education needs.
The Orange boss who looked proud had this to say “the list is endless; I will not mention all the activities”, adding that all these are revealed in their annual foundation booklet.
In conclusion he said that Orange is confident that through its technology and network, it can contribute on a broader scale nationally, through the upcoming implementation of e-government services.
And that its contribution will impact on the quality of education especially for students with disability.