- News Wrap
January 2026 News Wrap — our work, successes and impact
Blind footballers meet vice president
Players from the South Sudan blind football team have met one of the country’s vice presidents and presented her with their African Blind Football Championship trophy.
Vice President for the Gender and Youth Cluster, Rebecca Nyandeng, praised the team for their historic victory last year which took them one step closer to the 2028 Paralympic Games.
After delivering the trophy, Light for the World South Sudan Country Director Sophia Mohammed also presented the Light for the World Strategy and the South Sudan Sign Language Dictionary to the Vice President.
Call to protect people with disabilities in Mozambique floods
Light for the World is calling for urgent, inclusive humanitarian support in the wake of devastating floods in Mozambique.
More than 645,000 people have been affected and at least 112 killed following weeks of heavy rain and flooding, according to Mozambique’s National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Risk Reduction (INGD).
Light for the World Mozambique, which supports programmes in Sofala Province, is working with partners to assess the needs of people with disabilities impacted by the floods.
Zacarias Zicai, Country Director for Light for the World Mozambique, said: “The scale and pace of this unfolding crisis, including widespread displacement and damage to critical infrastructure, requires immediate action to save lives.”
Clear path to learning with new sets of specs
More than 100 students in Ethiopia are seeing clearly in the classroom and learning with confidence after a distribution of spectacles.
Light for the World provided 109 pairs of essential specs to students diagnosed with refractive errors during school eye health screenings.
The screenings and spectacles were provided under the “1,2,3 … I can see!” programme — an innovative 10-year project focused on improving child eye health in Africa.
Since 2021, Light for the World has been implementing the child eye health programme alongside University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, reaching elementary schools in Gondar city and surrounding areas of the Amhara Region. Beyond Amhara, the programme is also active in Tigray, Central Ethiopia, South Ethiopia and Sidama.
Closing the disability data gap
Colleagues have explained how NGOs can close the disability data gap and save lives in emergencies in an article for Bond.
Nadir Abu-Samra-Spencer, Expert, Data and Research, Light for World, and Clodoaldo Castiano, Director of FAMOD, shared insights from co-creating and testing the open-source, accessible SIRA tool.
The first fully disability and older age-inclusive data collection tool for crises, SIRA lets aid workers rapidly gather the right data so emergency responses can reach people who would otherwise be missed.
The article shares five lessons and how NGOs can use them to make data genuinely inclusive.
Disability inclusion partnership recognised
Light for the World South Sudan team has been recognised by our partner, the SeeYou Foundation, for strong collaboration and commitment to advancing disability inclusion.
We have worked together to strengthen the rights of people with disabilities to land ownership, food security and sustainable livelihoods across South Sudan. This joint effort has contributed to more inclusive development approaches — from influencing policies to supporting micro-entrepreneurs with disabilities.
“Our work proves that when people with disabilities are in the lead, policies are fairer, communities are stronger and no one is left behind in the fight against hunger,” says Sophia Mohammed, Country Director for Light for the World South Sudan.
OPDs call for disability rights and inclusion at EU-NGO Human Rights Forum
At the EU–NGO Human Rights Forum on Equality and Non-Discrimination, Light for the World amplified the voices of disability rights leaders from South Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia and Mozambique, highlighting disability rights and inclusion.
Representatives from Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) shared lived experience, underlining why meaningful participation of people with disabilities is essential in human rights policy and programming discussions.
Savia Juan Jackson Lodiong, Executive Director and Founder of Inclusive Development Research & Advocacy Network (IDRAN), said: “Include persons with disabilities in every decision that affects us. OPDs understand the daily challenges of persons with disabilities. Without them, decisions risk missing the real needs and solutions. Including OPDs ensures that policies and programs are relevant and effective.”
In case you missed it…
To mark World NTD Day, which raises awareness about neglected tropical diseases, we shared four things you need to know about trachoma.
Andreas Onea, Austria’s most successful para-swimmer and a well-known TV presenter, was elected Chair of Light for the World’s International Board of Trustees.
We welcomed Andres Vorwerk, who has extensive experience in purpose-driven organisations, as our new International Director of People and Culture.
