This Malawian invention rewrites the rules for blind students

Until 2024, Yankho Maganga, a learner at Chilanga School for the Blind in Kasungu District in central Malawi, relied heavily on Braille books and constant assistance from teachers to keep up with her lessons. However, the 14-year-old visually impaired learner says, over the years, schooling was an uphill battle. “I used to struggle a lot,” she says. “Sometimes I could not finish my work on time. My grades were very poor.” 

Today, however, her academic story has transformed. “My grades have improved. Now I’m among the top performers,” says Yankho Maganga and points to a black computer sitting on a small wooden desk in front of her as the reason for the transformation.

Her teacher, John Makombe, explains that the computer runs an AI-powered learning system called Blind Classroom – an innovation developed by young Malawian innovator Staff Nyoni. Makombe is also an instructor for the Blind Classroom project at the school. He says the system is transforming how visually impaired learners access education by converting written lessons into interactive audio content.

“Instead of using tablets, learners navigate the system through a simplified three-button interface and voice commands,” Makombe says. “The device talks to them, reads out lessons, asks questions and allows them to respond using their own voices.” Yankho Maganga agrees. “I can repeat a lesson many times until I understand,” she says. “I don’t need to wait for someone or a teacher to help me read.”

The system’s developer, Staff Nyoni, says the idea was inspired by his childhood experiences watching his visually impaired father struggle to read. He also recalls a visually impaired girl in his community who dropped out of school because she could not cope with reading demands.

Malawi has more than 800,000 visually impaired individuals, yet only about 50,000 are currently enrolled in schools. Many drop out early due to a lack of accessible and user-friendly learning tools.

“When I later studied ICT, I saw it as an opportunity to create something that could address problems facing my community,” Nyoni says. “In 2022, an opportunity came when Save the Children issued a call for applications. They organised a hackathon with partners where we pitched our ideas. I was selected for a two-year incubation programme at NextGen Labs to develop and refine the system.”

Save the Children supported the piloting of the innovation, which is currently being implemented at Chilanga School for the Blind and St Joseph Resource Centre in Dedza District in central Malawi. Bright Chidzumeni, Innovation Manager at Save the Children Malawi, says the organisation supports the project because it aligns with its core thematic areas. “This innovation directly speaks to our work in education,” Chidzumeni says. “Blind Classroom addresses key challenges that learners with visual impairments face, and that is why we stepped in to support it.”

He adds that the organisation is now scaling up the innovation to reach more schools. “At the moment, we are scaling the innovation to 14 schools for the blind,” he says. “We have released resources to purchase computers and other tools needed for the Blind Classroom to operate effectively. In financial terms, we have budgeted about € 18,000 for this innovation.”

Despite the success, teacher John Makombe notes that one challenge remains. “Not all subjects are loaded into the system yet,” he says. “Some important topics are still missing. We hope that in the future every subject will be available so that learners benefit fully.” Innovator Staff Nyoni says that this is among the gaps they are currently addressing. 

Link
Blind Classroom

Lameck Masina is a freelance journalist based in Blantyre, Malawi.
lameckm71@gmail.com