Blind children taught to be independent at Tibetan school

Located on the "roof of the world', Lhasa City in southwest China is still bathed in early morning mist at 8:00 a.m., an hour that often promises broad daylight in the eastern and central regions.

But weather is never a problem for 19-year-old Gela, who has lost her eyesight and has to rely on a walking stick to feel her way wherever she goes.

She has to leave home early every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday to give classes to blind children at a local training center, where she teaches a class of seven students Braille -- in Tibetan, standard Chinese and English, and organizes the children for sports activities.

Gela herself is one of the six earliest graduates of the tiny school, founded in 2000 by the local federation for handicapped people in the Tibet Autonomous Region and an international non-governmental organization that aims to promote training the blind.

In her spare time, the young teacher also runs a clinic with her schoolmates to provide massage services for tourists and locals alike, and is a perfect masseuse herself.

"Thanks to the training I received here, I'm able to support myself. More importantly, I've regained confidence in life," she said in an interview with Xinhua.

The training center, founded in 2000, teaches the rudiments of arithmetic, writing, singing, painting and gymnastics as well as some professional training to blind children of local peasants andherdsmen.

The students are encouraged to learn massage, painting, knitting and tailoring -- all skills that can help them make a living when they grow up.

Altogether 30 students are being trained at the center, the oldest being 13 years old and the youngest only three.

But neither the striking age difference nor the darkness beforethem have deprived the children of their joy: they laugh, chat, have fun and play tricks as much as any other children their age. Like traditional Chinese schools, these children are divided into groups: "rabbits", "tigers" and "mice".

"The 'rabbits' are above 10 years old, the 'tigers' between six and nine and the 'mice' are preschoolers under six," said Dezhen, a school teacher.

Dezhen said most children have learned to read and write in three languages -- standard Chinese, Tibetan and English. "

They are confident, happy and energetic like any other kids," she said. Some of the more diligent graduates of the school have continued their education at local primary or secondary schools, she added.

It is estimated that Tibet has 33,507 blind people, including 6,096 children. "Blind children should learn more skills in order to be responsible for themselves and society," said Sabriye Tenberken, a young woman from Germany who has been helping the blind children of Tibet achieve independence and attain a sense of dignity.

Tenberken herself was diagnosed with a serious eye disease in childhood and became completely blind at 12. She and her husband came to Tibet in 1998 to help found the school.