Pretoria – The Deputy Minister of Women, Children and People with Disabilities, Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, says education is a weapon to fight poverty.
Speaking at the handover of an accessible computer laboratory to the Bartimea School for the Blind and Deaf in Thaba-Nchu, near Bloemfontein on Wednesday, the minister urged the learners to educate and empower themselves.
“Use this [lab] correctly to empower and educate yourselves … as education is the best weapon to fight poverty,” said the deputy minister.
Deputy Minister Bogopane-Zulu and the MTN Foundation have partnered to establish accessible computer laboratories with specialised equipment that is responsive to the special needs of visually impaired and hearing impaired learners.
Many schools for learners with disabilities have the challenge of a lack of resources and infrastructure.
“Today we are giving you a computer lab to include you in the global world. [This lab] makes you connected to the rest of the world. We never had those things but we dreamed of you having them one day,” she said.
The deputy minister urged the learners to look after the lab. – SAnews.gov.za
