JOOUST Launched and Commissioned a Special Needs Education Skills Lab that will help in creating awareness on New and Integrated Technology in teacher training in Special Needs and Inclusive Education.
While Commissioning the Skills Lab, the Vice Chancellor Prof. Stephen Agong’ encouraged the project leaders to open up it's service as a benefit to the community. He said people Living with disabilities have skills that should be harnessed and put into good use for the growth of the Nation.
The Lab is set to be used in training Special Needs Education (SNE) Students on various technologies . It also acts as a Resource center for SNE students and people with disabilities. The Skills Lab is currently equipped with ten talking computers, ten talking tablets and ten Laptops that are used by Visually Impaired persons, 30 modern brail machines, one embosser that converts print materials into brail such that now VI students can have their notes and exams in brail as opposed the former practice where one had to read for them exam questions as they give answers. There is also a treadmill for the physically impaired to help them strengthen the bones.
The launch of the skills lab was followed up with a Status Conference at Rockwell Hotel in Kisumu where the leadership of the project took time to deliberate on the status of the project by looking into the milestones covered so far since the inception of the project in July 2018 .
Speaking at the official opening of the one day conference, the Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Research Innovation and Outreach Prof. Benson Estambale applauded the team members of PAPPS for the hard work that has seen the project reach where it is today. Prof. Estambale who was representing the Vice Chancellor encouraged PAPPS members to be more visionary and work together towards establishing a center of excellence in Promoting Awareness and Participation of People with Disabilities in Education and other Community Based Programs (PAPPS).
The Principal Investigator for the project Dr. Charles Omoke said that PAPPS project is focused on establishment of a Rehabilitation and Habilitation Center that will take care of the needs of persons with disability of all kinds.
The Conference brought together various partners of the project represented by Mr. Lawrence Ojijo from the County Government of Siaya. This is under the project; Promoting Awareness and Participation of People with Disabilities in Education and other Community Based Programs in Siaya County (PAPPS) domiciled in the school of Education in the Special Needs Education (SNE) and Early Child Development Education (ECDE) unit and it is funded by the National Council for Persons with Disabilities.