The boy with the world under his fingertips


Jovana Savic/CWS | April 27, 2011

Braille typewriter Photo: Jovana Savic/CWS

Braille typewriter Photo: Jovana Savic/CWS

Sebastijan Asimovski sees plenty of possibilities in his future. This bright, energetic first grader is constantly envisaging what’s next. His story wouldn’t be all that different from those of other enthusiastic first graders if not for his age and his disability.

For Sebastijan is 20 years old and visually impaired. “My son lost his eyesight when he was 9 years old,” shares Jasmina, Sebastijan’s mother. “His eye pressure was too high and damaged his optic nerve. The damage, unfortunately, cannot be reversed.”

Jasmina, Sebastijan’s mom Photo: Jovana Savic/CWS

Jasmina, Sebastijan’s mom Photo: Jovana Savic/CWS

Due to a lack of infrastructure and proper in-school support, it is very hard to integrate visually impaired children into mainstream education.  So, at the age of 8, Sebastijan enrolled in Belgrade’s only school involved in education and upbringing of children and youth with visual impairment, “Veljko Ramadanovic.” But the school didn’t receive substantial support and resources from the government to provide quality education, often lacking special learning equipment and supplies.

Moreover, visually impaired children were treated similarly to children with intellectual and development disabilities, often even mixed in the same class, with scarce attempts to adopt thoughtful, unique interventions and one-on-one, individual approach to each child.  This attempt at inclusion meant failure and disappointment for Sebastijan.  “He just wasn’t able to fit in,” Jasmina continues.  “I talked to his doctors and professors about his frustrations, and we decided that it was best for him at a time to stay home.”  He tried to re-enroll again into the “Veljko Ramadanovic” special school at the age of 17, but the attempt was again futile.  Because of Sebastijan’s age, the school was only able to enroll him as a non-regular student, and he was unable to pay required tuition fees.

All things considered

One would think that Sebastijan spent 20 years in complete isolation.  But you have to meet him in order to realize that he is far from a secluded, lonely, insecure or shy young man.

Sebastijan is very close to his mom, Jasmina, and she is in turn the biggest supporter of his many talents.  “My mother was an enormous support,” Sebastijan says.  Jasmina has been unemployed for most of her life.  She tried to open up and run a small business, but quickly gave it up because it required too much of her time and engagement, which she preferred to devote to her son.

Specialized equipment such as the Braille typewriter, or braillewriter, is absolutely essential to the provision of quality education for blind and visually impaired students such as Sebastijan. Photo: Jovana Savic/CWS

Specialized equipment such as the Braille typewriter, or braillewriter, is absolutely essential to the provision of quality education for blind and visually impaired students such as Sebastijan. Photo: Jovana Savic/CWS

Currently, they live on a monthly “other person’s care and assistance” social income, which amounts to approximately $250 and is given to families or individuals who, due to the nature of their illness or injury, need the continuous help of others.  “This assistance is symbolic, but we manage somehow.”  The income is sometimes supplemented by Sebastijan’s earnings since he was employed as a PR manager and a tour guide to name just a few.  He is also an avid guitar player and singer “with a decent voice,” while his interests range from non-governmental and humanitarian organizations to corporate practices and politics.

For developing his potential in his active and full life, Sebastijan is thankful to his mother.  “Although the formal institutions didn’t give me a proper opportunity to grow and achieve my full potential, and although I grew up in a single-parent home, my mom has always provided the necessary support and home education.  She never discouraged me from doing things based on my visual impairment.  So I was supported to follow my interests and desires, to work, make friends, play music, and just lead a typical life of a teenager.”

Light at the end of a (long) tunnel

It was precisely his rich social network that finally led him to the primary school “Branko Pesic” where, in February 2011, Sebastijan enrolled officially in first grade.  “My friends told me about this school and recommended I come here.  The principal of the school, Mrs. Jovanka Stojic met with us the first day and we immediately formed a pleasant cooperation.  We were welcomed with understanding not just from Jovanka but from the entire collective, all employees and teachers.  Here, everything works perfectly and beautifully, especially the relations with my two teachers with whom I work extensively.  All things considered and having in mind all that we went through, I have only words of praise for this school and its employees.”

Ivana, one of Sebastijan’s teachers, prepares for the class. Photo: Jovana Savic/CWS

Ivana, one of Sebastijan’s teachers, prepares for the class. Photo: Jovana Savic/CWS

Each morning, Sebastijan, accompanied by his mom, travels by bus for about 45 minutes to reach the school.  He hopes that city will soon start providing free transport for children with visual impairment.

In school, he works with his two teachers, Darko and Ivana, who made an individual educational plan for him.  Although the school hasn’t so far worked with visually impaired students, employees and teachers were deeply moved by Sebastijan’s story and decided to invest human and educational resources to assist him.  His teachers educated themselves in reading the Braille alphabet so that they would be better prepared to assist Sebastijan, and often stay after school or come on their free days to work with him.

Darko tells us that the plan, prepared by the school’s team for inclusion, contains themes and the threshold of knowledge that Sebastijan needs to reach during the first two grades.  “Given how quickly he progresses and becomes proficient ahead of our schedule in all the subjects and materials, we are sure he will finish the first four grades by end of this calendar year.  He is already a fully formed person possessing a lot of concepts; what we need to do now is organize them and put them in order,” Darko tells us, tapping Sebastijan on the shoulder.

Sebastijan will continue to study following the individual educational plan by the end of eighth grade, the difference being that the individual classes will be held only at the beginning.  Later, individual work will be mixed with group work in a classroom setting.  Darko continues that the “initial work required mastering the Braille; we learned from each other and individual work was much more suited for that type of learning.  I hope that in about one month Sebastijan will be included in a class.”  In the first few months, Sebastijan worked on solving his daily tasks over his mobile phone.  “But he is very talented,” affirms Darko, “and he quickly learned how to use his new Braille-typewriter and now he is doing all the assignments using the machine.”

Darko, another of Sebastijan’s teachers, helps him take notes on a braillewriter. The braillewriter allows students to produce braille, which is highly valuable in assisting blind and visually impaired students with schoolwork. Photo: Jovana Savic/CWS

Darko, another of Sebastijan’s teachers, helps him take notes on a braillewriter. The braillewriter allows students to produce braille, which is highly valuable in assisting blind and visually impaired students with schoolwork. Photo: Jovana Savic/CWS

Since he is still attending individual classes, Sebastijan has not had the chance to meet other children.  But he and his teachers developed a true friendly relationship.  “We work a lot,” Sebastijan asserts, “but along the way we also hang out and this becomes an extremely friendly education.”

Sebastijan is very active and driven, sometimes even self-devising tasks.  On one occasion, at home and on his own initiative, he prepared a very demanding text on all that he learned that day so “he is already very self-motivated to work and learn,” Darko concludes.

Eye on the future

The principal of the school, Mrs. Jovanka Stojic acknowledges that Sebastijan’s case is a great challenge for the school because “we never worked with students who are visually impaired.”  The school nevertheless has a reputation of giving all children, especially those who would otherwise have almost no chance of attending a decent school, the opportunity to learn and reach their full potential that will allow them to prosper.  “Since we are an inclusive school that accepts all children, we always welcome the challenge to do something new.  We tried to help Sebastijan, but it turned out that Sebastijan is also helping us learn more about ourselves as people and as teachers.”  The Braille typewriter not only means a lot to Sebastijan since he wouldn’t have to carry a very heavy machine from home to school each day, but it means a lot to the school as well “because now the school is equipped to successfully work with visually impaired children and maybe in future educate more children like Sebastijan.”

The principal of “Branko Pesic”primary school, Mrs. Jovanka Stojic, thanked CWS for long-term cooperation and an official certificate of gratitude was handed to Dr Vitali Vorona, CWS/Europe Regional Coordinator, given in the spirit of partnership, friendship, and all future undertakings. “When the Ministry of Education had no ear for our programs, we have launched our ideas thanks to CWS. Now, this year, after six years of our joint work, the Ministry finally accepted to finance our two pre-school classes. This means that we are doing our work professionaly and exceptionally. In the name of that cooperation, I thank you on behalf of the school.” Photo: Jovana Savic/CWS

The principal of “Branko Pesic”primary school, Mrs. Jovanka Stojic, thanked CWS for long-term cooperation and an official certificate of gratitude was handed to Dr Vitali Vorona, CWS/Europe Regional Coordinator, given in the spirit of partnership, friendship, and all future undertakings. “When the Ministry of Education had no ear for our programs, we have launched our ideas thanks to CWS. Now, this year, after six years of our joint work, the Ministry finally accepted to finance our two pre-school classes. This means that we are doing our work professionaly and exceptionally. In the name of that cooperation, I thank you on behalf of the school.” Photo: Jovana Savic/CWS

The school hopes to create specific projects to raise awareness in the community and to train teachers on how visually impaired children can be successfully integrated into mainstream education.

As for Sebastijan’s future, everyone involved has high hopes.

His teachers hope that he will complete the eight-year compulsory education in two to three years.  His principal wishes to see him normally enrolling in high school and then university.  His mother is assured that Sebastijan will finish the high school and after this chance, “I now believe with all my heart that he will finish his studies as well.”

As for him, he reveals that there are so many misconceptions out there regarding visually impaired persons, “my blindness defined what others were expecting of me, and that was not much.”  He would like to show that you can achieve anything if you have the desire and that, with the right assistance, change in attitudes and proper tools, you can learn and advance equally as those who can see.  Like his teachers and relatives, he as well set his sight on higher education.  But before that, he would like to get married and have its own family.  “I ultimately hope that I will have a family and a good job that will allow me to support my family and maybe become a positive role model in my community.”

As for us, we will enjoy following Sebastijan as he puts his mind to work and begins building more secure foundations for himself.

While we leave, Darko and Sebastijan sit down to work and we hear that the next text is called, behold coincidence, Grandpa Darko.  Their laughter sees us out…

Branko Pesic Primary School has a strong background in dealing with the issue of inclusive education, especially the education of Roma children.  The school, founded in 1946, has been intensively working with marginalized Roma children that have dropped out of educational system since 1991.  The school is unique in its approach of dealing with educational challenges, especially late entrants, and has already proven results in recruiting and maintaining Roma children.  Today, the school has about 400 Roma children.  After finishing elementary education, 80% of these children continue their education in some of the secondary schools.  Through CWS support, preparatory pre-school classes were offered to over 400 children since 2005.