OVER 500 people experienced life without vision for an hour at the Blind Walk, which was held to raise awareness about problems faced by the visually impaired on World Sight Day at Sector 17 Plaza in Chandiagrh on Thursday. The walk was organised by the Dialogue Highway Trust in collaboration with Project Vision, a Bangalore-based foundation. Navjot Singh Sidhu, Punjab Minister of Local Government, Tourism, Cultural Affairs, flagged off the walk and also walked with the aspirants.

The future is bright for Huyton woman Kelly Blackburn who doesn’t let her sight impairment stand in her way.

Five years after starting as a service user at Knowsley Council’s local day care activity base, Kelly, 23, is now working as a volunteer at the service – helping disabled adults and supporting the centre’s reception team.

Kelly’s impressive achievements have also seen her giving talks to social care professionals highlighting her experiences as a person with a sight impairment and raising awareness of the issues facing those with visual difficulties.

Taking up the cause of India’s blind people to help them get a chance to see the world, Union Tourism Minister KJ Alphons on Tuesday said that he favoured a legislation to make eye donation mandatory after death as is being done in Sri Lanka.

Speaking at the launch of Blind Walk — the world’s largest campaign for eye donation being held in 250 locations on the same day across five countries, Alphons said he would write to the Information and Technology and Health ministries to introduce a telephonic hotline for eye donation and make it mandatory after death.

A renowned optometrist and Chairman of the Ekiti State chapter of the Nigerian Optometry Association (NOA), Dr. Ayo Osadare, has put the number of children suffering from vision impairment in Nigeria at over five million.

Bhartesh Singh Thakur
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 9
Panjab University (PU) has refused permission to a blind student from the Department of Evening Studies from recording lessons in class as teachers have objected to it. The teachers fear that lectures can be misused and they feel uncomfortable in class where as students’ leaders say any student, whether blind or not, has a right to record lectures.

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 9

This Diwali again, Institute for the Blind, Sector 26, is ready with its brand of candles and lamps, assembled by blind students. 

 For the last 20 years, the institute has been selling them. “We do not put any stall. But every year, customers have been coming to the school. The scale has risen in the last few years,” said secretary BD Sharma. He said, “The school is able to make a sale of Rs 2.5 lakh on Diwali.” 

ITANAGAR, Oct 8: The state Tourism Department on Sunday organized drawing and singing competitions for children of Donyi Polo School of Hearing and Visually Impaired at Chimpu as part of its first leg of Paryatan Parv.
Jeeting Sonam, Yabom Bui and Gokia Bikap bagged the first, second and third prizes in the painting competition respectively, while Gyamar Philip, Gollo Yanye and Angel Devan bagged the first, second and third prizes in the singing competition.