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By Rabindra Rooplall
May has been designated Blind Awareness Month and the Guyana Society for the Blind is preparing 10 students between the ages of 17 and 35 to write five subjects at the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) exams for next year.
President of the Guyana Society for the Blind, Cecil Morris, said the CXC training started last January. Persons attend classes four times a week from 9:00hrs to 14:30 hrs.
President of the Guyana Society for the Blind, Cecil Morris
Adding that the persons writing the exams were assessed before chosen, Morris underscored that ?they have been doing quite well and are excited about the entire process which is a first of its kind for adults of the organisation.?
He said that the organisation is a part of the One Laptop Per Family hubs and some members are being trained with special reading software to use the computer.
?It gives us the kind of opportunity to really access internet, and get documents read to us. And this is great for the younger folks who now have the opportunity to learn and even start a CXC programme,? Morris emphatically said.
?In the world of technology now it means blind persons can take their place in a workplace and do just as well as others.?
Morris added that funding for the CXC project to pay the teachers was done by the government.
For the month, the main focus will be to sensitise the public to blindness and its causes and effects. Morris explained that in observance of the month a church service was held on April 28 at the Guyana Society of the Blind office at Lot 46, High Street St Phillips Green.
There was also a walkathon last Saturday to raise funds for the organisation. Members of the organisation walked from the Kitty market to the society?s office.
Underscoring plans to visit Berbice next Wednesday to do an outreach programme, Morris said that the Berbice branch was recently resuscitated. It had been dormant for some time.
Activities during the visit and throughout the month, he said, include various teams of visually impaired persons and volunteers having awareness visits to schools, taxi services and other business places around Guyana to enlighten persons how to treat visually impaired people.
?We would show the school children the right way to hold a blind person?s hand when assisting them; we would talk about care of the eyes, especially to children. We also would like to get the message across that blindness is not the worst thing that can happen to you. There is life beyond going blind; a blind person can still contribute to society.?
Other activities will include holding a social event for in-house members along with a campfire where stories will be told. A chain of canes will also be held around the Public Building on May 31.
Morris further stated that his organisation welcomes the People with Disability Act but feels that more needs to be done to make people aware of their rights. He also noted that business persons should take time to read and learn the Act since some sections of the Act speaks directly to them.
?It has not been an easy task for the society to do the kinds of things that we want to do like mobility training and getting canes. We must thank the Mormons (Jesus Christ Church of Latter Day Saints) because they have got some stuff for us, including some white canes,? Morris said.
The Guyana Society for the Blind was established in 1950 but was made legal on October 8, 1955. It is sustained by its own fundraiser and a subvention from the Government.
There are also routine monthly medical check-ups by a doctor who is assigned to them by the Ministry of Health ? the second Wednesday of every month. Medication is also administered, if needed, free of cost. The members are also exposed to workshops through the National Commission of Disability and other organisations.
The Society was actually brought into existence in 1950 by a group which included several visually impaired individuals. The current President, Cecil Morris, indicated that as far as he could recollect, the organization was founded by Jacob Moe, Ella Phillips, a gentleman whom he only remembers being a Prison Officer, and a few others.
Cecil Morris was President from 1997 to 2002, then after returning to Guyana he was re-elected from 2004 to present. The organisation has 120 members, however, only 64 are active.
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