Zanzibar's blind turn hands to profit

30 September 2008

Related pages: Tanzania country profile | Millennium Development Goal 8: Trade


Mgeni Omar weaving a coconut mat

Mgeni Omar, 49, threads lengths of coconut fibre into a large round mat at the Shangalia shop in Stone Town, the ancient centre of Zanzibar City. Completing just one coconut mat takes Mgeni a month of weaving and calls for a steady hand and huge amounts of concentration.

Far from being an easy job, in other words, but what makes the former primary school teacher's work remarkable is that she is blind in both eyes. Mgeni turned to weaving a few years ago after she lost her sight and, with it, her livelihood.

To launch herself into a whole new career took all the determination Mgeni could muster - as well as the help of a DFID-supported organisation that champions the rights of Zanzibar's blind and partially sighted people.

No second class citizen

Out of work, Mgeni fell prey to "deep despair and the feeling that my life had ended". Options for earning money were few, and the many voices telling her that "blind people should stay at home" only added to Mgeni's alienation.

For a year Mgeni's was an empty existence, confined to her house, unable to support her family. But then she turned to the Zanzibar National Association of the Blind (Zanab) who had just carried out a campaign to address blind people's lack of awareness of their basic rights. 

Through Zanab Mgeni learned how to weave and, more significantly, discovered that being blind did not mean she was a second class citizen.

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A valuable role

Zanab representative Masoudi Daudi: "The support we offer means blind people are sure not only about their rights but have a renewed confidence about their abilities and value to society." Zanab has three broad aims: building skills amongst blind people, providing information about health, education and employment opportunities, and working to bring about policy changes.

The people who come to Zanab for help are often uncertain about what to do next in their lives. But the support they receive ensures that they can go out into the world confident of their abilities and the valuable contribution they have to make. 

As a result of Zanab's work attitudes are being transformed. For instance, the organisation has worked with the Ministry of Education to train teachers how to read braille, enabling them to understand the needs of pupils with visual impairments.

There have been changes, too, in Government health policy. Blind people have been awarded more of the rights they deserve and hospitals have been instructed to treat them as a priority.

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Sense of achievement

DFID supports Zenab through its funding to the Foundation for Civil Society. This seeks to strengthen small and medium-sized civil society groups in Tanzania, helping the country's poorest and most vulnerable people. 

Mgeni Omar is just one of many thousands who have benefited directly from the work of the Foundation. Though it may sound small, the 50,000 Tanzania shillings (about £22) she earns from her rugs and carpets every month mean she is now better able to look after her family.

And, thanks to her new career, she is no doubt about her place in society - as she is reminded each time she puts the finishing touches to another of her creations.

"I can’t see with my eyes, but I can see with my hands," she says. "I know I can weave nice mats, which makes me proud of my work and proud of my small role in this business."

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Facts and stats

  • Zanab represents around 650 of the estimated 4,200 blind and partially-sighted people living on Zanzibar's two largest islands, Unguja and Pemba. Zanzibar is located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Tanzania, of which it is a part.
  • The Foundation for Civil Society was launched in 2003. It supports a wide range of organisations but a common goal is to help people understand laws, policies and their rights as individuals.
  • The Foundation provides individual grants up to 300 million shillings (about £130,435). In the last five years these grants have added up to more than £9 million.
  • DFID, a founding member of the Foundation, has provided about £2 million over the past five years. DFID will provide another £4 million over the next four years starting in 2008.

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