I noticed a few things about being blind...
It was at a fundraising event for
Egoli Blind, called Dinner in the Dark, on Friday evening.
We were blindfolded and had to eat our "dinner in the dark"!
Thoughts on being blind:
- I don't like being blind! (That's the point!)
- I get sleepy as soon as my eyes are not working.
- Conversation was hampered because I could not see the rest of the people at the table.
- Food tastes different when you can't see it.
- It was a whole negotiation to get my glass filled, and we did not know how to get the attention of the waiters. Keeping our hands in the air did not seem to work.
In the end there was a
little lot of peeking happening, and we had great fun!
It made me aware of how difficult it must be to be in perpetual darkness, and to negotiate your way in a visual world.
I work with a blind colleague, and he makes it seem so easy!
He does not see anything as a barrier.
When something has to be done, he is off with only his walking cane in his hand!
Hats off to all the blind people who "see" and do everything!
I am copying the Mission of Egoli Blind, who are mainly operating in the southern Gauteng area of South Africa. They are on Facebook as well:
Egoli Blind.
"In order to achieve its vision Egoli Blind provides the following to its members as well as the visually impaired community within its area of operation:
o Support to recently blinded people;o Assistance to visually impaired people with reference to job placement and the improvement of working conditions.o Advise people of and refer where necessary to rehabilitation facilities.o The collection and dissemination of information relevant to visually impaired people.o Creating awareness among visually impaired people of the services provided by Blind SA i.e.:
- Braille training;
- Literature;
- Study bursaries;
- Loan facilities;
- Education;
- Employment and careers;
- Advocacy;
- Blindness-related information;
o Orientation and mobility;
- Support to parents of visually impaired children ‘and’ visually impaired learners relating to educational matters;
- Support to visually impaired senior citizens;
- A forum for networking among visually impaired people;
- Creating an awareness among the sighted public of blind people and blindness-related matters"
