A visually impaired teacher at the Wa Methodist School for the Blind, Madam Mavis Serwah has advised parents to enrol their children with visual impairment in school.
She said parents should not "hide" the children because they are challenged with sight.
Madam Serwah was speaking at a community sensitization durbar on "Caring for Children with Visual Impairment" held by the Upper West Regional Department of Children with support from Visio International and Presbyterian Health Services at Busa community in the Wa Municipality.
"So I'm urging parents around here, bring your children, don't hide them, don't keep them in the house, they're the honorable people, they're special people," she encouraged.
She disabused the notion that people with disability cannot excel in life citing herself as an example, "my parents did not hide me, they didn't hide me under the bed. Look at me now, I'm a teacher and I'm also imparting knowledge to our young ones."
She said children with visual impairment are also human and should therefore be allowed to receive formal education to become responsible members of society.
Madam Serwah further admonished parents to not feel shy about their children with visual impairments saying that "when you keep the child in the house, he or she would not be able to move on with their peers, the child would be left behind."
She emphasized that when a person with a disability is educated, he or she would become financially independent, contribute to society and not be a liability to society.
On his part, the Special Education Officer for the Wa Municipal Education Directorate, Mr Sebastian Amuh said visual impairment was never an end to an individual's life in pursuing their ambitions and acquiring valuable skills for daily living and living earning.
He urged parents to entrust their wards with sight problems into the care and education of special schools for them to be helped to unearth their potential and God-given talents.
“Send your visually impaired child to School for the Blind for us to train him or her and in just one term when they return home, you will marvel at the things and activities the child can perform without needing assistance which they used to require,” he assured.
Meanwhile, as part of the sensitization exercise, an eye screening session was held for children in the community in which 294 children were screened comprising 129 males and 165 females of which ten of them detected with problems were referred for further medical advice.