“I am able to do a lot of things on my own, even send emails. When a letter is sent to me, I can read for myself. I don’t have to look for anybody to assist me. Even for studies, I can scan books and store them on the computer,” says Samuel Muindi who teaches Braille and computer studies at the Machakos Technical Institute for the Blind.
Samuel, an avid user of the Internet, is blind.
“When I am in my house and I want to do research, I just purchase data bundles and I am able to do everything without much struggle. Safaricom is important as it has made the availability of information possible, especially for those of us who don’t have many printed materials. We don’t have a newspaper in Braille, but I can access a newspaper using the Internet. Therefore, it has been of great help to us,” he says, clutching his white cane.
Muindi is passionate about his job. The Kenyatta University alumnus studied Special Education.
“I am happy to work in an institution where I get to support others who are visually impaired like myself,” he says.
Muindi, the first degree-holder among his six siblings, encourages parents and the community to nurture abilities of children living with disabilities.
“There are lecturers in universities who are visually impaired – and so many people working who have disabilities. Take the children to school and you will be surprised by what they can do,” he says.
In many parts of the world, Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) are not only locked out from developing their skills and reaching their full potential but have limited access to information and communication technologies.
For those with access to mobile phones the services are not always suitable or tailored to their needs and neither do they have a great user experience.
PWDs experience their mobile products and services in different ways to non-disabled users. Technology and digital technologies, however, can bridge these gaps through intuitive, better and tailored services and products for PWDs. disabilities.
For instance, the NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA), is a portable screen reader, or TalkBack, that read for Muindi and enable him to type on his computer or phone.
He carries out transactions through M-PESA, and he only has to touch his phone’s screen to find the Safaricom M-PESA icon.
Sending money via M-PESA is also simplified as M-PESA has an Integrated Voice Response service accessible through dialling 456 that helps people who are blind or with a visual impairment to access information about their M-PESA accounts.
Through the service, a blind person can check M-PESA information without external assistance which keeps their personal information safe.
In 2018, Safaricom launched a Braille watch, in partnership with DOT Incorporation, that allowed blind people to access M-PESA services independently.
The Dot Braille Watch displays SMS notifications in braille hence enabling a visually impaired person to read their M-PESA messages independently and conduct financial transactions with confidentiality.
Muindi prefers mobile money transactions to handling hard cash over fears of getting scammed or being cheated out of his money.
He recalls in 2019 shortly after the government unveiled new banknotes.
“With the old ones, we could tell the difference. But with the new notes, the KES 500 and KES 1000 notes are almost the same size, and this has made it challenging,” he adds.
Following the Covid-19 pandemic, Muindi only makes cashless transactions.
“I avoid handling cash because you don’t know the origin of the money, which might have the virus. And, sometimes when I am broke, I can go to Fuliza and get some money that I repay later,” he says.
Fuliza is a service that allows M-Pesa users with insufficient funds to complete their transactions.
His first Fuliza request, he recalls, was during an emergency.
“My son swallowed a one-shilling coin. I was broke at the time, but I quickly registered for Fuliza and got some money that I used to take him to the hospital before planning my next move,” he recalls.
