Rally for awareness of visually impaired
Durban - The KwaZulu-Natal Blind and Deaf Society, together with the KZN Society for the Blind and eThekwini Municipality, held a “White Cane Safety Rally” on Saturday, to increase awareness for the safe movement and independence of people living with visual impairments.
The rally began from Park King Dinuzulu to the Durban City Hall. The “white cane” is used by the blind / partially blind, for independent navigation to get to work, school, shops and when travelling.
Vincent Sikhakhane (60), from Phoenix, who is partially blind said he lost sight later in his life, when his eye one day started getting red.
After going to several doctors, one of them suggested that he had “pressure” in his eye and it had to be operated.
“The one eye is totally impaired while the other can barely see. The only colours I see are black and white,” said Sikhakhane.
He said he faced challenges when walking in town. “Even when you’re walking with a cane, people would still head straight to you and bump you. There’s no empathy whatsoever.
The same as taxi drivers, they cross red robots and don’t care about us. They hoot and almost hit us, it can become a nightmare in town,” said Sikhakhane.
He hoped the rally would educate people on how to be sensitive to their needs as well.
Clive Govender, Orientation and Mobility Co-ordinator for the KZN Blind and Deaf Society, said the purpose of the rally was to promote ubuntu for special consideration to the blind on the city’s streets and highways.
“The white cane actually indicates that the person using it is blind, so others must be aware, especially motorists to exercise special care for the blind persons who carry white canes,” said Govender.
Nompumelelo Sithole, representing the Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda’s office, said the aim of the rally was among others, intended to heighten awareness among stakeholders in the public transport sector on the needs of the visually impaired while on the road as pedestrians or commuters.
“As for the city, the inclusion and empowerment of people with disabilities remains a priority.
We have a ‘Vulnerable Groups’ office under ‘community participation and action support unit’, which advocates for the protection, rights and development of people with disabilities, where through this unit, programmes for people with disabilities are implemented,” said Sithole.
She added as the leadership of eThekwini municipality, the city prioritised increasing the employment of people with disabilities. “Creating employment and having an inclusive procurement spend of the City for designated groups, will assist to empower and enable people with disabilities to participate in the mainstream economy,” said Sithole.
She said the City pledged to continue in its efforts to advocate for people with disabilities. “I encourage all stakeholders in various sectors to commit and play an active role in the creation of inclusive communities and empowerment of people with disabilities,” said Sithole.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE