Claudine Uwitije prepares a client before a massage.
Moise M. Bahati
Monday, March 27, 2023
In 2018, Claudine Uwitije signed up for massage therapy training by an organisation called Seeing Hands Rwanda, which seeks to address social and economic issues like unemployment among visually impaired people.
Now, Uwitije, a massage therapist and trainer, has found a source of regular income, enabling her to lead a more independent life.
“Living in Kigali would have been very hard for me if I didn’t have this job as a massage therapist,” she said.
“There’s still the perception that people with disabilities cannot live without help. But I do most of the activities myself, including commuting to work.
“Seeing Hands has given us opportunities which we could never have found elsewhere, and our self-esteem got a boost,” said Uwitije. “Certainly, more people with disabilities need information and networks to be able to live the lives they deserve.”