You may remember eight-year old Collette Roos, who was born without sight. The kindness of friends like you meant that we could give Collette educational toys like the Leap Frog, which sings and is perfectly suited to children who can’t see.

We’re thrilled to report that the toys our Resource Centre supplies – along with the love and attention she gets from her visually impaired stay-at-home mom – have seen Collette flourish!

Collette is now in Grade 4 and she's a top performer, having achieved an average of more than 80% during her first school term this year. She’s also an avid piano player, and last month came ‘top of the pops’ out of four entrants from her school in The Academy for Contemporary, Jazz & Gospel Music of South Africa exams.

It just goes to show, when eager young minds get the support they need from friends like you, from their parents, our Education Desk and from wonderful, educational toys from our Resource Centre - it all adds up to success for young visually impaired learners!

When Elizabeth started making basic mistakes at the restaurant she was running in Cape Town, she said “I thought I was being stupid”. At the end of every day, she had the same problem – her till wouldn’t balance. Finally, Elizabeth couldn’t look her employer in the eye anymore, and she resigned.

A few months later, things had got even worse. Elizabeth started tripping when the ground was uneven. Doctors realised she had uncontrolled high blood pressure, which was causing retinal haemorrhages. Despite treatment, the doctors were unable to stop it and Elizabeth lost her sight completely.

For a while back then, Elizabeth floundered in her strange new world. She was fortunate to receive computer, rehabilitation and independence training. After her studies, Elizabeth started up her own business. Even though she was earning a decent living, she realised she had a deeper calling – she wanted to teach other visually impaired people the life-changing skills she had acquired. Not one to turn her back on a challenge, Elizabeth started up a new project in Cape Town – and now she’s teaching blind people skills in their own communities.

Although she was already braille literate, she again studied at Optima, having signed up to learn the internationally used English version braille as well as Afrikaans braille. Now, Elizabeth can teach her students this great skill too, which opens the door to freedom and independence. “If a person loses their confidence, it takes a hell of a lot to build up that confidence again,” she says.

Thanks to the support of our valued donors, Optima is ready and willing to do just that.