Paul School for the Blind, Bo

The school is named after its founder, Paul Trye. Like others in Sierra Leone it is a primary school in which pupils follow the normal curriculum but with an extra emphasis on Braille reading and writing, and on typing. It also houses secondary students who study in integrated mainstream schools.

It is situated in a very pleasant compound and the former cholera wards make for spacious classrooms.  However, the school has precious few other resources, and the committed teachers have to work extra hard to make up for the lack of teaching and learning resources. The library has not a single book, and even textbooks in Braille are in desperately short supply.

The children sleep in very cramped dormitories, sometimes two to a bed and in some cases without mattresses. The well in the compound runs dry by February, meaning that for some six months in the year the children have to walk two miles before school to fetch and carry water.

The UK Association is hoping to commence a major upgrading programme over the next couple of years, if and when funds permit.