Blind SA

🌸 Empowering Young Girls Through Knowledge, Confidence and Self-Protection 🌸

Blind SA is proud to host a Youth Empowerment Programme for girls aged 10–15 years from schools for learners with visual impairments on 12 June 2026 at 12:00 noon.
We are excited to announce that 104 girls from 11 schools for learners with visual impairments, together with 20 teachers, have registered to participate in this important empowerment initiative.
The programme will provide a safe and supportive space for young girls to learn about:
✨ Physical changes during puberty and adolescence

✨ Emotional wellbeing and self-esteem

✨ Understanding personal boundaries and body autonomy

✨ Who can and cannot touch you, and where

✨ Recognising unsafe situations and seeking help

✨ Building confidence, resilience and self-advocacy skills

Facilitated from both a health and psychosocial perspective, the programme aims to equip girls with age-appropriate knowledge and practical skills to help them navigate adolescence safely, confidently and with dignity.
At Blind SA, we believe that every girl has the right to understand her body, protect herself, and grow into a confident young woman empowered to make informed decisions about her wellbeing.
We look forward to engaging with these young leaders and the educators who support them as we work together to promote safety, wellbeing, confidence and self-determination among girls with visual impairments.

📚 YOUTH MONTH BOOKSHARE CHALLENGE 📚

READ. SHARE. EMPOWER.

Are you ready to make reading accessible for everyone?

This Youth Month, Blind SA is challenging young South Africans to join the Bookshare Challenge and celebrate the power of accessible reading.

How to Participate:

✅ Read or listen to a book on Bookshare
✅ Share a photo, video, or voice note about what you learned
✅ Post it on social media
✅ Tag Blind SA and nominate 3 friends to take the challenge

Why Join?

📖 Promote literacy and education
🌍 Advocate for accessible reading
💙 Support inclusion for persons with visual impairments
🎉 Stand a chance to be featured on Blind SA's social media platforms

Every book opens a door. Every reader creates change.

Join the movement and help us ensure that no one is left behind when it comes to access to knowledge.










Tag your friends and start the challenge today! 📚✨

📢 Blind SA and IEC Partner to Strengthen Accessible Voter Education Ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections

Blind SA, in partnership with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), will host a Training of Trainers (ToT) Workshop from 11–12 June 2026 at the Southern Sun OR Tambo Airport Hotel, Johannesburg.

The two-day workshop will bring together 46 delegates from Blind SA branches across South Africa to equip facilitators with the knowledge, skills, and tools required to deliver accessible voter education programmes within their communities.

The training forms part of the national Blind SA – IEC Voter Education Implementation Programme for the 2026 Local Government Elections, which aims to empower blind and partially sighted persons with information about voter registration, municipal governance, voting procedures, accessible ballots, electoral rights, and complaints mechanisms.
Following the training, delegates will return to their respective provinces to facilitate voter education workshops at 52 Blind SA branches nationwide, reaching an estimated 1,770 blind and partially sighted persons, Orientation and Mobility beneficiaries, and community members between June and November 2026.

This partnership demonstrates the shared commitment of Blind SA and the IEC to ensuring that every South African, regardless of disability, has equal access to electoral information and the opportunity to participate fully in our democracy.
Together, we are building an informed, empowered, and inclusive electorate.

Sending Love to Men who:💙👬🚹
Are Struggle Mentally💙
Are suffering with suicidal thoughts💙
Are Scared to speak up💙
Are in Therapy💙
Are feeling alone and feel dismissed by society💙

June is Men's Mental Health Awareness Month, a dedicated period to break the stigma surrounding emotional struggles in men and encourage them to seek help without fear of being perceived as weak.

Blind SA Showcases Decolonial Disability Research on International Academic Platform

Blind SA was proud to be represented at the annual conference of the Canadian Sociological Association, where more than fifty academics, researchers, and scholars attended a panel discussion exploring participatory disability research across three countries: South Africa, India, and Vietnam.
Thandile Butana, Head of Community Programmes and Rehabilitation at Blind SA, presented on behalf of the South African component of the ENGAGE Research Project. The presentation, titled "Collaborative Knowledge-Making in Action: Methodological Insights from Decolonial Participatory Research with Girls with Disabilities in Rural South Africa," highlighted the project's innovative approach to disability-inclusive research and community engagement.
The international panel was led by Thuy Xuan Nguyen of Carleton University and brought together researchers and practitioners from the three participating countries to share lessons and methodological insights from the project. The ENGAGE Research Project is a collaborative initiative involving Blind SA, Carleton University, University of KwaZulu-Natal, and international partners working to advance the rights, participation, and leadership of young women and girls with disabilities.
During the presentation, Butana highlighted the experiences of girls with disabilities from two rural special schools in KwaZulu-Natal: Vuleka School for Deaf Learners and Thuthukani School for Learners with Intellectual Disabilities. The presentation reflected on how the project created opportunities for young women with different disabilities, languages, and communication needs to learn from one another and become active contributors to the research process.
A key theme of the presentation was the importance of moving beyond traditional research approaches that position academics as the sole producers of knowledge. Instead, the project adopted a decolonial participatory methodology that recognised girls with disabilities as experts in their own lives and communities. Through arts-based and participatory activities such as storytelling, poetry, drama, drawing, vision boards, and community engagement, participants were able to share their experiences in accessible and meaningful ways.
The presentation highlighted how trust-building, disability inclusion, peer solidarity, and accessible communication became foundational elements of the research process. Importantly, the project demonstrated that meaningful participation can lead to increased confidence, leadership development, and advocacy skills among young women with disabilities.
One of the most powerful examples shared was the girls’ leadership during a community outreach event at a local clinic, where they independently facilitated discussions, shared personal experiences, and promoted disability inclusion and gender equality. This reflected a significant shift from participation to genuine co-creation of knowledge and community awareness.
The South African presentation also explored some of the challenges encountered throughout the project, including communication complexities, coordination across multiple stakeholders, and the need to continually address power dynamics within participatory research processes. These challenges, however, provided valuable lessons for strengthening future collaborative and inclusive research initiatives.
Reflecting on the experience, Butana noted that the project reinforced the importance of creating safe spaces where young women with disabilities can share their stories, analyse their realities, and contribute to social change. The findings demonstrated that girls with disabilities are not merely recipients of services but are leaders, advocates, researchers, and change-makers capable of shaping knowledge and influencing their communities.
Blind SA's participation in this international academic forum reflects the organisation’s ongoing commitment to disability-inclusive research, community empowerment, and the promotion of the voices and leadership of persons with disabilities. The opportunity to share South African experiences alongside colleagues from India and Vietnam further strengthened international learning and collaboration on disability rights and inclusive development.
The conference presentation served as an important platform for showcasing how participatory and decolonial approaches can transform both research practice and the lives of young women with disabilities, while positioning Blind SA as a leading contributor to disability-inclusive knowledge production on the global stage.

The Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) is currently running the Vita Basadi Awards nominations process. The awards ceremony will take place during the month of August where Nominees will be invited to attend and winners in the category announced nominations of deserving women serving in the different categories, Closing date is 30 June 2026.

The link for nominations is: 11th ANNUAL VITA BASADI AWARDS – CALL FOR NOMINATIONS | Gauteng Provincial Legislature

A Huge Congratulations to all the New executive committee of SABA

The following are the new members of the Executive Committee for the term 2026-2028:
1. Mr. Ntshavheni Netsh*tuni – President;
2. Mr. Ofentse Manyane – Vice President;
3. Mr. Deena Moodley – Treasurer;
4. Mr. Christo de Klerk – Member;
5. Ms Susan van Wyk – Member;
6. Mr. Eric Gama – Member; and
7. Ms Pasha Alden – Member.

Wishing the committee all the best in advancing Braille in the Country.

Register to vote 📢📢Your vote your future

🇿🇦 New month, same mission: making sure no eligible voter is left behind.

From first-time registrants preparing for their 18th birthday to lifelong voters who have participated in every election, registration is where it all begins.

June is your reminder to get on the voters' roll and be election-ready.
Register online: https://registertovote.elections.org.za/