Now I know, blindness is not disability!

“I and Shukria, who also has visual impairment like me, were always thinking about our life and our future. We were thinking what will happen to us in this darken world, the world where its days and the nights has the same color to us. We wished to go to school and study, just like my sisters and other girls in our neighborhood and learn how to read and write, “Says Nooria

Nooria and Shukria are sisters with huge similarities. Both have visual impairment and thus, they are very friendly, kind and close to each other. The congenital blindness makes the have same sense.  They even have some similar stories and concerns. Nooria and Shukria are living in a very poor family in Mazar-e-sharif city of Balkh province.

Shukria shares one of her frustrating memories: “When I and Nooria were kids and wanted to go outside, the other children used laughing on us saying, see these blinds where are they going? It made us feel embarrassed and not to go outside.”

“The only wish which we had in our childhood was to go to school and study like our sisters”, Nooria says.

Fortunately, their dream became true, when the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan’s rehabilitation worker of Disability Program found them and started home- based training.

Both of them shared some memories about SCA vocational training courses and education classes which they had taken in the past, “12 years ago the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, Rehabilitation Worker came to our home and talked with us and our parents to get the permission for training us in our home once a week. After few months learning at home, we were taken to the SCA Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities. In SCA, first we learned the alphabets in braille, besides learning we received some trainings about our rights and vocational training courses like carpet weaving, sewing and knitting”.

They are not only studying at school, Nooria is knitting at home and support her family from her daily incomes. Also recently they received a milky cow from the (AAB) Afghanistan Association of Blind’s small grants project with SCA financial support. Its dairy sales have more benefits on their incomes.

Nooria and Shukria are currently studying in the 8th and 5th class in the special training school for visual impaired persons. Nooria hopes to become a good teacher in the future and help persons with disabilities.