ANWAB is a non-profit, non-governmental charitable organisation. Our main aim is to create an enabling environment that will foster independence of blind people through education and welfare. Serious attention is paid to the interests of all blind people, particularly blind women.

Working actively with friends in the United Kingdom, the Association was founded in 1994 in order to help alleviate the many obstacles facing blind persons in Nigeria.

ANWAB was first registered as a charity in the United Kingdom in December 1994 and with the Corporate Affairs Commission in Nigeria in November 1999, with one important objective being the provision of reading materials in Braille or audiotape and training in independent living for all blind persons. The Association’s Centre commenced operations in October 1996.

The first major project undertaken by ANWAB was a three-year grant fund provided by the British National Lottery titled BRAILLE EDUCATION PROJECT. This entailed the employment of extra staff including an outreach officer whose duty was to go round the 36 states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, to locate blind students in their various schools. Information gathered included their books and social welfare needs. With this information, ANWAB was able to transcribe into Braille hundreds of volumes of books which were supplied to blind students all round the country at subsidised rates.

INTERNET CAFÉ FOR THE BLIND: ANWAB in 2007 set up, with the help of the Ford Foundation, a dedicated Internet Café for the blind, the first of its kind in Nigeria. The Café helps visually impaired people to carry out research on the world-wide web and generally browse for information and read daily newspapers online. All computers are fitted with JAWS speech software to enable access by the blind.

The Centre, as part of the Ford Foundation also boasts of a Computer Training Unit for training blind people, including women and girls in computer technology. Training is provided in JAWS and OpenBook scanning.