Ron Wagner-Wright with students at the school he is founding for children who are blind.

Limited opportunity is a fact of life for many children in the Philippines, where half of the population lives in poverty. In Muntinlupa City (in southern metropolitan Manila) where the monthly income is $50 or less, many children are destined to a life of poverty for lack of an education.

“Even though education is free in the Philippines, families can’t afford uniforms and supplies,” says Ron Wagner-Wright, a Ph.D. in Education student who lives in the city. “And Filipino children who are blind suffer the most because blindness is highly stigmatized here. Parents of blind children abandon them or hide them in shame. Many are orphans. It is very sad. This is why I am establishing a school for them.”

Founding a School
Wagner-Wright, who is himself blind due to an inherited disease, is the headmaster of Eyes of the Philippines: Servants of Jesus Community Organization Inc. School for the Blind, a burgeoning school for indigent and homeless blind children in Muntinlupa City.

The school will be the only school for the blind in the Philippines founded on a philosophy of blindness from the perspective of those who are blind, according to Wagner-Wright, who has studied at schools for the blind in several countries.

“It is also the only school for the blind headed by a blind person. The students will receive training from sighted teachers who possess good blindness skills and believe in the abilities of blind people,” says Wagner-Wright, who became blind in his 30s and is a disability rights activist (he was an advisor to the mayor of Hawaii County, where he formerly resided).

Designing a Curriculum
As director and headmaster, he has many roles, including training the school’s 35 teachers and establishing a curriculum.

The core curriculum, he notes, will include academic subjects, such as language arts (English and Tagalog, the most widely spoken Philippine language), science, mathematics, fine arts, accounting, social sciences, music and economics.

The expanded curriculum will consist of specialty courses for the blind students. “These include the history of Braille, independent mobility skills, cane travel, street navigation, domestic skills, and Braille I and II reading and writing,” he says. “These courses build a foundation for literacy and independence.”

Wagner-Wright will be designing, writing and printing all the lesson plans and pedagogical material in Braille form. “Our goal is to one day have the school be a certified, registered school by the Department of Education,” he says.

Earning a Ph.D.
To achieve this goal and become more adept in educational leadership and management, Wagner-Wright, who was a teacher before he lost his sight, decided to earn a Ph.D. in Education at Walden.

“Just because I am blind does not mean that I am truly qualified [to teach blind children]. To lead this school and administer it, I feel I need the correct training and academic skills,” he says. “I came to Walden to study online here in the Philippines and gain academic and technical knowledge. Plus, as I progress through my course of study, I will have the opportunity to interact with Walden’s diverse and crosscultural faculty, staff, and student body to share and exchange ideas.”

Garnering Support
The school, which is currently run out of a rented space, recently acquired land from the church for a school building. Now, Wagner-Wright has to raise about $70,000 for construction, in addition to donations of supplies, such as books on tape and cassette players.

He has garnered the support of many volunteers and civic organizations, which are buying Braille slates and styluses and collecting dark glasses for the students. The National Federation of the Blind is raising funds to buy his students white canes. And students from the University of Hawaii have volunteered to maintain the school’s Web site.

“People have been very kind. They know it’s all for the children. Most of my students really have nothing. They deserve the right to have equal opportunity and also the right to be different without prejudice,” he says. “Supporters really respect our mission.”

More Information
Email Ron Wagner-Wright at doctorron@hawaii.rr.com.

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