Waldorf School Students Create Animals for Blind Students in Egypt

Middle school students at the Waldorf School of Cape Cod create handmade animals to support curriculum for blind students in Mansoura, Egypt.

Bourne, MA (PRWEB) March 29, 2009 -- While working recently at the Mansoura Insurance Hospital in Egypt on a project about birth and breastfeeding for the Egyptian Ministry of Health, Dr. Kajsa Brimdyr of Sandwich, Massachusetts, met the hospital's General Manager, Dr. Fatma.

Several years ago, Dr. Fatma noticed the high number of orphans (specifically girl orphans) being left at the hospital, and she started an orphanage for them. Dr. Brimdyr states: "Dr. Fatma also realized that her blind patients had nowhere to go during the day and no way to learn about the world, so she started a school for the blind. Students of all ages are brought to the school in the morning, and have access to Braille books; people who read the newspapers, the Koran, and stories to them; and teachers who use hands-on methods to teach general education. She is an amazing woman (in a male dominated society) who sees a need, and then comes up with a solution."

"Dr. Fatma told me that one of the biggest challenges blind people face is understanding what animals look like," says Dr. Brimdyr. "People talk about animals all the time, yet without any basis for understanding the descriptions and comparisons, animals are a mystery to them. I told her about my daughters, who attend the Waldorf School of Cape Cod in Bourne, and about the wonderful handwork items they create there. We agreed that perhaps we could forge a connection, and the Waldorf students could make animals so that the blind children could actually feel the shape of the animal."