By Charles K Mark
Four visually impaired students have been awarded academic scholarships to pursue degree programs at the University of Juba (UoJ).
The scholarships, offered by the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), aim to support the students through their four-year degree programs in various disciplines.
Jimmy Just Augustine and Precious Arkanglo will study Social Work and Rural Development, and Arts and Humanities respectively, while Stella Peter and Martin Ladu are both first-year Mass Communication students at UoJ.
For Precious Arkangelo, securing a university scholarship is a dream come true. She aspires to become a renowned media personality after completing her Mass Communication degree.
“I just admire the way those people speak on the radio and also I want to really bring the live stories from the people and also want to know what is happening in our nation,” Arkengelo expressed.
However, visually impaired students face several challenges, including the lack of support from their peers in terms of notetaking and the sheer volume of study materials, which they struggle to manage.
“No one to read for you and if you find someone to read for you, you have to pay her/him some money or buy food because she/he will keep complaining that we are wasting their time,” Arkengelo lamented.
The students called for more support, such as access to computers and supplementary funding for transportation, to ease their studies.
Jimmy Just Augustine, a graduate of Juba Day Secondary School, welcomed the scholarship with open arms.
He explained that since completing his secondary education in 2021, he had been unable to enroll in university due to his financial circumstances, which prevented him from finding employment to earn the necessary funds.
Augustine shared that he is now studying Social Work and Rural Development, as he aspires to engage in social work and serve vulnerable communities.
“I want to help my community, which is why I chose to pursue community studies,” he stated gratefully. “I am thankful to CEPO for providing me with this great opportunity.”
Robert Ladu, the Chairman of the Union of the People with Disabilities, acknowledged the positive step taken by CEPO in supporting the marginalized group through education.
“We have never received any support of this kind from anywhere to support education of visually impaired learners, we thank CEPO and call up on the rest to come up,” Ladu commended.
He noted that many in the community still hold negative attitudes towards people with disabilities, especially the visually impaired.
CEPO has cleared SSP1,300,000 in tuition fees for one academic year for the four students.