Alex learns Braille at his local school in Uganda. © Tugela Ridley / Sightsavers

Top of the Class

Alex is just 10 years old and from Uganda. He suffers from a debilitating eye condition called posterior capsular which means he finds it difficult to see the board at school and to read his school books. He was identified as having this problem with his eyes and had an operation to improve his sight in June 2009 at the Mengo Missionary Hospital.

The surgery went well and he can see better than he could before but his vision is still not perfect and he needs to use Braille in order to learn.

Alex attends Kamasurai Integrated Primary School in the Masindi District where eleven other blind or visually impaired students also attend. Sightsavers have provided this school with Braille materials, four computers and also built a resource centre for teacher training and extra support for these children and other children with special needs.

Thanks to this support, and his own irrepressible confidence, Alex is making huge strides both at home and at school. He now walks an hour to and from school every day, is an assistant prefect in the Scouts troop and loves to play football. He's also a huge Manchester United fan!

One of his teachers Harriet says, "Even after his operation, he still needs to sit close to the board and uses big print, but his reading has greatly improved. Teachers love him!" And no wonder, Alex recently came top in his class, and is determined to become a doctor.

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Learning and Visual Impairment

Education