Help Salama Blind School after Devastating Fire

In the early hours of Tuesday the 25th of October, a fire broke out at the Salama School for the Blind, killing eleven children. The school is located in the Mukono district of Uganda and is a school which serves children from rural communities. Children at the school are as young as six years old.

The fire started in one of the girl's dormitories, making it extremely difficult for the children to get out. The extent of the fire was so great that bodies had to be identified by forensic experts using DNA evidence. This morning, on the seventh of November, a twelth child died after receiving treatment in hospital.

We must respond and send our assistance to the school and the children. Not only are they dealing with the loss of so many of their friends, the children have also lost everything they own. All personal items, books, clothing, bedding, and anything else they owned was burnt in the fire. Children have nowhere to sleep and no clothes of their own.

A small group of blind people has come together to respond to this terrible situation, and we are asking for your help. Members of the group come from the UK, Germany, Kenya, as well as representatives from the school in Uganda. Together, we cannot give back what was lost, but we can hopefully provide the resources the children and school will need at this time.

Money for clothing, blankets, and any other personal items will be sent to the school so that these can be purchased directly. Whilst we could buy these and send them over, it's important that the children get exactly what they need rather than what we believe they might. White canes, braille paper, and other blindness-related materials will be purchased here and sent over. The reason for this is that these products are much more readily available in Europe, and we can partner with organisations here regarding shipping them to the school. This is also why the fundraising target may seem quite high. The cost of blindness materials is generally very high, with a single white cane costing around £40. Even if we do raise the full amount, we could never give the children all the accessible resources they would need.

This is a horrifying situation that has deeply affected the global community of blind people, and I'm sure the impact in Uganda is even greater. Anything you can give is appreciated, and I will update this page regularly with information about resources which we are able to send, and the funds that are being sent to the school.

The fire at the school has been covered by the BBC , Nile Post , AP News , and other media organisations.