Tablets Presented to First-Graders and the Sports Association of the Blind

The Municipality of Stari Grad donated tablets to first-graders of the branch school “Edhem Mulabdić” in Širokača, as well as to members of the Sports Association of the Blind and Visually Impaired of the Sarajevo Canton who are engaged in the project “Inclusion through Sport”. The tablets were presented today by Mayor Ibrahim Hadžibajrić, and those present expressed gratitude to the Municipality for the support it provides, both to the youngest through educational institution projects and to blind individuals through projects of the Sports Association of the Blind and Visually Impaired, Patria reports.

The tablets will help first-graders master the basics of computer science, which has been introduced into the first-grade curriculum. According to the director of the “Edhem Mulabdić” Elementary School, Aida Omersoftić, the relevant ministry provided one set of tablets per school for first-graders. However, this school has two additional branch facilities where first-graders faced difficulties in their work.

- Our students at the branch school in Širokača had only one tablet, and the ministry ignored our request for additional devices. We turned to the Municipality of Stari Grad with a request to donate at least six tablets, but then Mayor Hadžibajrić said that the Municipality would provide tablets for all 13 students of this branch school, and we are immensely grateful for that - said Omersoftić. She added that the tablets will also serve future generations, given that computer science is now a subject taught from the first grade of elementary school.

Tablets for participants of the “Inclusion through Sport” project

The “Inclusion through Sport” project has been running for four years, with the greatest credit for its implementation going to Kenan Kudus, president of the Sports Association of the Blind and Visually Impaired of the Sarajevo Canton, Sena Okić, professor at the Center for the Blind in Nedžarići, and Zoran Đukić, selector of the Blind Bowling Team of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who are the bearers of all activities. The project is implemented in elementary schools in the area of Stari Grad, aiming to bring students closer to the everyday problems faced by blind individuals.

The president of the Sports Association, Kenan Kudus, takes every opportunity to thank the Municipality of Stari Grad for recognizing the importance of this project and allocating funds for its implementation.

- This is the most significant project we have had in our 60 years of existence, and its results are evident thanks to the support of the Municipality - said Kudus, and Prof. Okić agreed with him.

- There is no better way for people to become acquainted with the difficulties faced by the blind than through familiarizing and educating children - said Okić.

The tablets they received today represent a kind of reward and incentive for their engagement, as well as a tool for easier work on the project. It was announced that “Inclusion through Sport” will be expanded in the coming years to include a larger number of students. It is planned that third-grade students will be taken on a visit to the Center for the Blind in Nedžarići to learn about the problems of these people, fourth-grade students will receive education, while fifth-grade students will participate in a walk for the blind.

Members of this association today expressed special gratitude to Mayor Hadžibajrić because one of their members got the opportunity to establish an employment relationship in the Municipality of Stari Grad. Namely, a few months ago, a visually impaired person was employed as a telephone operator in the Municipality of Stari Grad. “It is rare nowadays for blind and visually impaired individuals to get a chance to be employed, and we are immensely grateful to you for having a sense of our problems and helping us,” said Kudus.