All India Awareness Welfare Association of the Blind has pleaded to the government of Tamil Nadu to implement the schemes and concessions for the blind and handicapped persons announced by the Chief Minister, under Section 110 in the Assembly.
Now, visually impaired people in India can have access to the latest information and can refer to it any time. A unique network configuration developed by ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) will help transmit live audio for blind students and even enable the transfer and printing of audio data files with the help of a Braille printer.
Gallery Tom, in the quiet Shoto district of Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, recently held ‘Boku-tachi no Tsukutta Mono 2005’ (‘The things we made - 2005’) featuring about 60 works by children at schools for the blind from around Japan. This year, the works were expected to be included among a set of pieces to tour Spain, thanks to the Organizacion Nacional de Ciegos Espanoles (ONCE) which has been actively involved in promoting blind artists and helping young visually impaired people receive education.
People who knew nothing about climbing asked them, “Why?.” People who climb themselves asked, “How?”
“It’s the exhilaration of achieving something that few people have done. We felt the same exhilaration,” said Sam Atwood and Craig Kiser of Florida, USA, on having climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, at 19,340 feet, the highest peak in Africa.
According to the latest findings of the Eye Bank Association of India, there are around 10 million blind people in the country, of which 2 million suffer from corneal blindness, with more than 60 per cent of them being children below the age of 12. Gujarat alone has about 40,000 children suffering from corneal blindness.
This revelation came as the country celebrated ‘Prevention of Corneal Blindness in Children Fortnight’ from August 25 to September 9 to bring awareness about preventing corneal blindness, especially in children below 12 years.
"I could climb trees from childhood. So, I thought why not take it up as a profession?” says, Sanatan Das. Climbing coconut, palm and banyan trees as high as 70-80 feet to fell them down or cleaning the bed of ponds by diving ten feet underwater, is his means of livelihood.
Sanatan Das identifies a tree through touch and makes out its circumference by looping his arms around the trunk. He begins his work by setting up a makeshift scaffold, a little above the ground level. He sets up several scaffolds and he goes up by putting his arms around the tree trunk.
Waymark Holidays, one of the UK’s leading Europe walking tour companies is working with disability charity Vitalise to offer walking tours in Austria and Spain this year for visually impaired clients.
It is well known that visually impaired people have heightened sense of smell, taste and hearing. The trips have been chosen to capitalize on their enhanced senses, while giving them the chance to get out and walk in some of the most beautiful areas in Europe.
Narration begins even before the lights go down, describing everything the audience sees on stage before curtain. It is automated and synchronized with sound and lighting cues, to accommodate pacing variations from performance to performance.
"Wicked is filled with exciting visual elements; trap doors open, characters slide down ropes, jokes revolve around the fact that the wicked witch is green," said T. Richard Fitzgerald, theatrical sound designer and CEO of Sound Associates, Inc.
Anandan, a daily wage earner in a confectionery-making unit in Tuticorin district of Tamil Nadu was upset when he saw a blind man falling into a pit and struggling to regain control. The incident inspired him to develop a cane that would inform the holder if an obstacle was near.
His walking stick works with the help of two battery cells and a secially fitted three-foot aerial, which vibrates whenever the user comes across an obstacle.
Calcutta tops a list of cities with growing eye problems among children. A recently concluded survey, conducted at the behest of the Union health ministry, has revealed that vitamin A deficiency – the most common reason for eye problems among children – is highest in the city and adjacent districts.
"It is absolutely an awesome feeling. It was over so fast", that’s 33-year-old Hein Wagner for you, the world's fastest blind driver. Driving a red Maserati V8 Gransport, he notched up 269 kilometres per hour (167miles per hour) along an airstrip in northwest South Africa. He broke the previous record of 233 kilometres per hour (144 miles per hour).
Rupees 100 and 50 currency notes in the new 2005 series banknotes, will be printed in intaglio (in raised prints), which will enable visually impaired persons to identify them easily, announced the, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), recently.
"The portrait of Mahatma Gandhi, the Reserve Bank seal, guarantee and promise clause, Ashoka Pillar emblem on the left, RBI Governor's signature and identification mark for the visually impaired, printed in intaglio will be made more prominent by raising the depth," as per a statement by RBI.
According to the Helen Keller International, (HKI), cataract alone was responsible for 600,00 cases of blindness in Nigeria.
The incidence of trachoma infections was also rampant in the northern zone of the country. Tracing the causes of blindness, NGO said, it was linked to the hygiene and sanitation practices of the people.
The Lucknow University is in the process of building a library for its visually impaired students. Named Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Library, it will be an exclusive library for the visually impaired with a capacity to seat 50 visually impaired persons. Proctor of the university, V.D Mishra said, ‘‘We provide special facilities to them at the Tagore Library also. It is equipped with a conversation machine and braille transcript.”
The Vision Aid Charitable Services Society has procured low vision devices like spectacle magnifiers in four sizes, stand magnifiers and illuminated hand held magnifiers, from the National Institute for the Visually Handicapped.
These devices will be given free of cost to people affected with low vision, whose monthly income is less than Rupees 5,000. Those in need of these devices can visit the organisation at Maharanipeta, Vishakapatnam or call + 98482 27337 for details.
“Challenge 32 pushed me farther than any of my adventures before this for sheer physical exertion and mental stamina. I had nothing left at the end,” said Caroline Casey.
Caroline Casey and Tony Ward, two visually impaired runners, recently completed an incredible 32-mile challenge across 32 counties in Ireland. They hailed the spirit of Irish adventure and the abilities of disabled people as their inspiration.
When a sporting event is on, many visually impaired fans are forced to rely on radio commentary and this can be frustrating. “The trouble with radio commentary is the regular interruptions while reports come in from other matches, other sports, or even traffic updates,” said Eleanor Ellison of the Royal National Institute for the Blind, (R.N.I.B), UK.
VoiceSignal, the leading provider of speech solutions for mobile devices, demonstrated the speech synthesis research project in Woburn, Massachusetts, USA.
Called VSpeak (T.M.) the new technology approach for embedded speech synthesis for mobile phones will hit the market of mobile phones later this year.
According to a World Health Organisation study 70 to 80 per cent of all blindness cases in India are curable, said, Minister of State for Personnel and Parliamentary Affairs, Mr. Suresh Pachouri.
The minister also released a book 'Disaster Management through Panchayati Raj', written by Director General of Council for Advancement of People's Action and Rural Technology, Kamal Taori.
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