Little support for Liberia's blind

Because of the day-to-day challenges that they are faced with, coupled with the uncertainty of not knowing where the next meal will come from, many blind people in Liberia's capital Monrovia have resorted to begging in order to survive. Among them is 19 year-old Flomo Jallah.

"For me, actually I survive through the streets, because every day we come here to ask people for handouts to sustain ourselves in order to pay school fees and rent," Flomoh said.

The blind in Monrovia often use children as an aid when they go out begging, although this is discouraged by the authorities.

But not all the blind beg in order to survive. Some are entertainers. Abraham Kamara, 25, has a family of three. He is the lead singer in a group of blind beggars in Monrovia. The message the group carries in their songs is of hope and has biblical verses mixed in which they sing out to whoever cares to listen

At the end of the day the group shares whatever has been collected in the box placed in front of them and go home. Abraham is not happy that they have to go through this daily, come rain or sunshine.

"To sustain myself, I go on the streets and ask for help from my brothers and sisters. It does not please me to go begging in the streets but I have no other option. We are not getting support from anywhere," he said.

More donations needed

To address some of the challenges faced by the blind, the Christian Association of the Blind (CAB), a local non governmental organization, is playing an advocacy role and seeking to ensure that there are equal opportunities for them in Liberia.

Beyan Kota, the head of CAB and himself blind, said their organization is committed to fight for the rights of the visually impaired because they are often stigmatized and looked down upon. CAB is not self sufficient and relies on funds from donors to carry out its activities.

"Our operations rely heavily on humanitarian support, donations from individuals, partnership – overseas support sometimes," he said. "It becomes increasingly difficult when overseas support is not forthcoming."

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Liberia has an estimated 35,000 people living with different forms of blindness. Many suffer from cataracts in one or both eyes, which if not operated on leads to visual impairment and blindness.