Image: Some employees of the Namibia Federation of the Visually Impaired (NFVI) office in Windhoek who will be left out in the cold when the organization’s doors close in April due to a major cut in donor funding.
Windhoek
After being in operation for almost 30 years the Namibian Federation of the Visually Impaired (NFVI) will close its doors in April when donor funds dry up. The Finnish government is reducing its funding to the Finnish Federation of the Visually Impaired (FFVI) which will affect the budget of the NFVI. The FFVI funds the NFVI. Some 21 NFVI employees who have been with the federation since independence and almost reached retirement age will be left out in the cold.
Importantly, those who will be most negatively affected are prospective learners who need to undergo rehabilitation programmes which equip visually impaired people with skills in mobility, how to read Braille, how to get by on a daily basis and computer training.
The NFVI is the only organization in Namibia offering such training and it has hence called on government to intervene, but for now it will remain open until April.
“If you become blind today and you are 30 years old, you can’t go to primary school. You first need to be rehabilitated to cope with your current situation. There is no private institution. People come here because of the experts we have. You are counselled, taught how to read and write Braille and walk independently,” said the NFVI executive director Moses Nghipandulwa.
The programme has two intakes per year offering four months’ training per session. So far 180 visually impaired people have been trained since 2009.
The NFVI also offers an outreach programme where parents and guardians of visually impaired children are counselled and motivated, while some learners have already been identified to be enrolled on the programme.
Nghipandulwa said the federation must inform the public that it will discontinue with its activities. “We also call on good Samaritans and individuals to help in whatever way they can to make sure the rehabilitation courses we offer don’t stop but proceed.”
Nghipandulwa said some visually impaired people did not attend school up to Grade 10 and therefore the federation offers an entrepreneurship course which enables them to one day earn an income.
“We are getting calls from parents as far as Okalongo saying they want to enrol their children but we asked to them hold on. This is the only federation for the visually impaired which is active and committed to its people,” said Nghipandulwa who himself underwent the rehabilitation programme.
The 30-year-old was born sighted but became visually impaired while on a fitting and turning intership. A grinder exploded while he was doing welding and some metal particles shot into his eyes. He was left with one eye severely injured while the other had 10 percent vision. He changed careers and registered for a business management programme at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST).
Nghipandulwa said NFVI was established in 1986 and has over 15 000 registered members in all 14 regions of the country. The FFVI (Finland) has been their main donor since 1986 providing 85 percent of financial support, which pays for salaries, administration costs, municipal bills and NFVI events like the White Cane Day, among many others.
The government through the health ministry provided 15 percent financial support, which the federation used to buy assistive devices and pay for registration fees to continental and world bodies.
A letter addressed to NFVI employees on February 5 signed by its vice-chairperson Tobias Mumoye said the Finnish government is reducing its funding to the Finnish Federation of Visually Impaired which includes the budget from which the Namibian organization (NFVI) benefited for many years. Mumoye said the federation would temporarily suspend its activities from April 2016 until such a time when the financial situation has improved.
“The end of this financial support is a result of the following: firstly an economic crisis which had a negative impact on the Finnish government; secondly, the change of status of Namibia to a middle-income country which is now perceived to be able to take care of itself with less international support.”
He said that this has affected the federation negatively as it is no longer in a position to carry out its normal activities, to pay for its day-to-day expenses and to remunerate its employees.
The federation also wrote a letter to Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila seeking an audience to discuss the issue.
The letter informed employees that they will receive their full salary for February, but that there would be salary cuts of 50 percent in March and April.
“You will be called back for duty when the financial position of the federation has been resolved. You may be requested to perform voluntary work if need be and you may also avail yourself to perform voluntary work,” stated the letter.