By Christine Otieno BBC Africa Live!

After the attack, Jane wanted to die

She turned her life around and is now the director of a Ugandan charity organisation, Blind But Able

"It was 8 pm on August 23rd 1994. I was lying in bed.

"My husband came home from work and went to the bathroom. He called me tenderly. I was surprised at the tenderness in his voice, so I went to him. The whole place was in darkness.

"As I approached the bathroom door all I can remember is feeling this heat all over my face and hands.

And then the pain, the pain was the worst thing I have ever experienced. I ran out of the house screaming."

Her crime? Three days earlier she had asked him for a divorce.

The last thing she heard as he threw the acid were the chilling words "you are dead now".

Crime of Passion

Jane was blind and disfigured, a situation she has come to terms with and grown strong from. She is now the co-ordinator of a Ugandan training centre for the blind, Blind But Able, which is supported by Sight Savers International, Goal Uganda and the Abilis Foundation.

We may be blind but we are also able Jane Perfect

When I met Jane I was struck by her facial disfigurement. As I spent more time in her company I was in awe of her amazing resilience and her attitude that being blind or disfigured was not the end of the world.

After she was attacked, Jane lost her job and for three years remained confined in her house crying and wanting to die.

Her husband at the time of her attack is believed to have drunk a watered down version of the acid he threw at her and after a month in hospital, he died.

Family members, church leaders and community workers all tried to persuade Jane to accept her situation and get on with her life - if not for her sake then for the sake of her four children, two girls and two boys.

Inspiration

She would not listen to them until a blind person came to talk to her.

The woman was the Late Diana Mpiriirwe, a founding member of Blind But Able. Listening to her and watching the shadowy movements through her partially sighted left eye, Jane was convinced her family was trying to trick her.

She remembers hearing Diana bounding up stairs at speed, moving around without help and Jane thought, "Surely this woman is not blind?"

Blind people are taught basic skills

Jane now works tirelessly with other blind people helping them to regain confidence in themselves and live a productive life.

Activities such as Braille instruction, typing, knitting, learning how to us computers with talking screens and mobility skills are organised at the centre.

Trainees learn self-reliance, cooking, cleaning and to move around the community relying primarily on themselves.

As in many countries, blind people do not find employment easily in Uganda. But Jane believes these barriers are being conquered especially by blind people themselves.

"Once self esteem is restored a blind person will go out there and insist on being taken seriously."

Fumbles

I saw such confidence when Jane offered me a drink. She called over Oliver, a 19-year-old trainee at the centre.

Jane tested Oliver's mobility skills by giving her some money and two empty bottles. After a few fumbles and directions, Oliver located the iron gate of the compound and pulled it open.

Oliver can now get around on her own

She returned a few minutes later with a beaming smile carrying two soft drinks and the change.

"Jane, I did not even need my cane," she announced triumphantly.

Jane hugged her.

"The late Diana taught me when you say the sky is the limit, we can go to greater heights."