community reach

Methodist School of the Blind

Wa Methodist School of the Blind is located in Wa, Upper West Region, Ghana. The school was established in May, 1958 as a special school for visually impaired children. 

Textile weaving techniques are taught to students in the Department of Vocational Training. There, students make furniture, weaving intricate nylon threads around metal frames to produce modern designs. 

For over a decade now, Nubuke has supported the School of the Blind, introducing students to new materials and looms, as well as providing them with new skills and ideas on sustainability. 

Nubuke’s intervention began in 2010 when co-founders, Kofi Setordji and Odile Tevie, first went to Wa. They noticed that students at the School of the Blind were spending most of their days sitting in a corner of the classroom. Overwhelmed by the lack of resources, Kofi Setordji decided to establish a workshop on weaving, using Okra plant and seed ropes. Monica, a fully blind young girl, taught other students how to rely on their fingertips. 

Nubuke has continued to collaborate with the school ever since and in 2021 the students’ handiworks were showcased for the first time at the maiden edition of Woori Festival.

“I can hold your hand, tell you how to do things. I have done that with blind people. They cannot see but they have been able to weave. I designed new weaving tools for them. I also work with deaf people. I work with community people, for those are the transformers in society. If artists like myself go to people like that and nurture them, then we can affect their lives, and then we can affect the traditional way of doing things. This is the role I play. It is how I am and how I will always be.”

Kofi Setordji

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