News and issues on the disabled 24 Oct 2024
Azmi Anuar
Contents
1. The Times of India - Temple ‘priest’ rapes, impregnates blind girl in Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri
2. The Times of India - 1st-ever sensory theatre for visually-challenged staged
3. The Nation Pakistan - DC urges immediate action for visually impaired persons
4. New Era Namibia - Visually- impaired youth ventures into poultry
5. Birmingham Women's and Children's UK - Marfan Syndrome and me: Esmay’s story of nothing holding her back
6. The Advocate USA - Zachary High student brings awareness of visually impaired residents to East Baton Rouge Parish
7. The Bengaluru Live India - Association Of Visually Impaired People Holds Protest In Shimla Over Various Demands
8. Canadian Paralympic Committee - Para athletes share employment successes and challenges
9. KEYT USA - The Horse Project: Freedom for the Blind
10. The New Indian Express - ‘Grand master’ going strong at 80 years
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1. The Times of India - Temple ‘priest’ rapes, impregnates blind girl in Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri22 Oct 2024
BHOPAL: A visually challenged girl was allegedly
raped by a self-styled temple priest in Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh.
The matter surfaced after she became pregnant.
The suspect is on the run since he was accused
of sexually assaulting the minor, differently abled girl. The incident is
alleged to have occurred within the temple premises.
The victim's family reported the incident to the
police after she became pregnant. The police have registered a case and are
actively searching for the accused.
The accused is said to have presented himself as
a spiritual leader and gained significant local influence. He held Darbar at
the temple, offering advice and conducting religious rituals.
The victim alleges that the assault took place within the temple premises. She also claims that the accused threatened to kill her father if she reported the incident.
The rapist is alleged to have used a fake identity and claimed to be a CRPF jawan. He is believed to have married a woman in Mathura under false pretences and later fled the area. The accused is said to have used his position as a spiritual leader to gain trust and influence.
The police are continuing their investigation. They are working to gather evidence, identify potential witnesses, and locate the accused. Officials said that searches are being carried out in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.
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2. The Times of India - 1st-ever sensory theatre for visually-challenged staged22 Oct 2024
Guwahati: A first-of-its-kind experimental theatrical performance staged at the city’s Sri Sri Madhabdev International Auditorium on Monday transported around a hundred visually-challenged audience members into a world where their senses and imagination blended, transcending physical limitations.
Meticulously tailored play for the special audience, titled “Tomar Nibir Mayare”, marked the first-ever such initiative in the northeast. This initiative was a joint effort by All India Radio, Guwahati, and the Inli Foundation.
“Tomar Nibir Mayare”, written and directed by Rituparna Das, aimed to address the issue of social inclusion of the physically challenged in spaces predominantly occupied by non-physically challenged people, while providing a sensory retreat with its captivating performance. Several visually impaired students from the city and individuals from various parts of the state enjoyed the play.
Das told TOI, “Visually impaired or people with other physical challenges also have the right to lead a normal life like other people. The play was a humble effort to address that. While writing and directing ‘Tomar Nibir Mayare’, the prime challenge was to make our special audience watch through their ears and connect to the play. Extensive use of various sound effects was primarily focused on in the play for their better understanding of what is playing on stage. Unlike in usual stage performances, sound is used even to denote the dropping of a call.”
The play featured the story of a divorced woman author and her growing relationship with an insurgent group member, who initially appeared to be an admirer of her writings. “Apart from connecting the audience to the play, making them understand the subject was also a challenge for us. We tried our best to deliver that by keeping the story simple,” director Das added.
The cast, Aparna Dutta Choudhury and Satyajit Gogoi, delivered powerful performances that deeply resonated with the audience, evoking their emotions.
One audience member, Kishor Mohan Bhattacharyya, an assistant professor in Gauhati University’s history department and a visually impaired person himself, termed the initiative the first of its kind in the entire country. “The experience of listening to the play was very captivating, with powerful performances by the artists and a realistic story, along with a commendable effort by the organizers to address social inclusiveness for all. It felt like listening to a radio play.”
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3. The Nation Pakistan - DC urges immediate action for visually impaired persons22 Oct 2024
ABBOTTABAD - Deputy Commissioner Abbottabad, Khalid Iqbal, during a meeting with a delegation from the Blind Association on Monday, addressed the pressing challenges faced by visually impaired individuals in the community.
The delegation highlighted several critical issues, including the lack of employment opportunities, inadequate educational facilities, and insufficient infrastructure to support their unique needs.
During the meeting, Deputy Commissioner Iqbal expressed his commitment to taking immediate action. He emphasised the importance of prioritizing the rights and needs of visually impaired individuals and acknowledged their vital role in society. He reaffirmed that implementing effective policies for their welfare is a key government priority.
The DC stressed the need to increase employment opportunities, provide quality education, and establish appropriate infrastructure to improve the lives of visually impaired individuals. He also highlighted the importance of developing specialized training programs and rehabilitation centres to promote their social and economic independence.
Reiterating his commitment, Iqbal assured that all available resources would be mobilised to help visually impaired individuals become productive members of society.
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4. New Era Namibia - Visually- impaired youth ventures into poultry22 Oct 2024
KAKURO – A rural boy in northern Namibia typically grows up looking after livestock and being empowered to farm, among other masculine domestic responsibilities.
This was the childhood that 36-year-old Veikko Mandume from Kakuro village in Kavango West experienced.
He recalls the fateful day, at the age of eight, when he lost sight in his right eye in a freak accident in the bush. On that day, it was business as usual when he and his cousin went to look for cattle in the veld.
Passing through a particularly bushy patch, his cousin held a thorn bush for Mandume to pass.
However, the untimely release of the thorny shrub resulted in Mandume being struck in the right eye, rendering him blind in that eye for the rest of his life.
His life has never been the same since that fateful day. Despite missing a full year of school due to being in and out of hospital, he could no longer see clearly, and had to adjust to using one eye. Apart from that, he was bullied by other children, and could no longer go out in the sun without wearing a hat as the sun caused discomfort in his eye.
He, however, stated that losing sight in his right eye was a blessing in disguise as he qualified to receive disability benefits from the government. Mandume also completed his studies, and earned a certificate in Information Technology (IT) from Namibia’s then-Polytechnic (now Nust), before studying again to become a fire-fighter. However, since graduating, he has not found gainful employment as an IT specialist or even as a fire-fighter.
“I keep applying, but I don’t make it. At some point, I even offered to volunteer to work for free for the Kavango West regional council, but I didn’t succeed,” he lamented.
Six years ago, he decided to utilise his disability benefits to purchase a few chickens, guinea fowl and ducks. He began a farming project, and constructed a poultry house out of pieces of corrugated iron and mesh wire. However, he always had the challenge of thieves, lack of a proper structure, reoccurring poultry diseases, food shortages and resources to improve his project. He, nonetheless, persevered.
Today, his Tupeniko Poultry farming project has about 120 chickens, ducks and guinea fowl. With a donation of poultry feed and equipment worth N$58 000, which was received on Friday by the Nkurenkuru constituency councillor, Mandume’s production is now set to increase.
“Today is my best day because I am feeling happy to receive these materials. This is going to help me a lot in my project,” said the overjoyed and grateful enterpreneur.
He told New Era that his love for poultry was motivated since childhood, as the noise of poultry gave him peace of mind. “Whenever I stress, I come sit here and just look at them and hear their sounds. Then, my stress eventually goes away.
He said the poultry project has helped him and his family with a source of food and income, and everyone is now actively involved in it.
“We don’t buy eggs in our house anymore, we just collect eggs. Even when I am not around, I know that everything is running smoothly as everyone loves the poultry at home,” he added.
When asked if he would venture into studying agriculture, Mandume said people automatically grew up learning agriculture at home and school, and this gives them the necessary knowledge to successfully run agricultural projects without further education.
“Agriculture is born into us because we grow up with agriculture all around us. We learn it as children, which should motivate people to start projects out of things we know, and with whatever is available to us,” Mandume said.
During Friday’s equipment handover, Nkurenkuru constituency councillor Fillipus Tenga said funds were availed from the VAT budget for 2023/24 to empower the youth and marginalised people in the constituency, who are already running projects which require assistance.
“We decided to assist youth in our constituency. He is not the only one. We also identified water provision in Maporia and Karanawa locations, where we have a problem of water. We will buy water tanks and iron for water tanks from that budget. Materials will be bought once we are done with the procurement processes, and will be given to the beneficiaries”, he said.
Tenga added that the constituency is challenged by a lack of funds to give the youth, who are mainly focused on self-employment projects among the marginalised population.
“I want to encourage the youth that when they are at home, they must not only expect that they must be employed. They should come up with initiatives and be innovative, and make proposals to our office. If we secure funds, we can assist them,” he urged.
Friday was the constituency’s second handover under the employment scheme after the handover of agricultural equipment worth N$65 800 to a small business in the Mpungu Constituency.
*Paulina Ndalikokule is an information officer at MICT Kavango West.
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5. Birmingham Women's and Children's UK - Marfan Syndrome and me: Esmay’s story of nothing holding her back22 Oct 2024
Esmay Treen has given us an insight into Marfan Syndrome, a rare condition that only affects one out of 5000 in the UK, and she won’t let the syndrome stop her from being her authentic self.
Her mum Talia, works as an Eye Care Liaison Officer at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and came along with Esmay for our chat.
Esmay said: “Marfan Syndrome is a genetic condition that affects your eyes, your heart, your feet and your skeleton.
“Nothing stops me. Having this condition doesn’t really make me feel like I can’t do anything. No condition should make you feel like you can’t do anything. Having a heart condition and weak bones is quite hard. Sometimes you feel like you get out of breath easily or sometimes you feel like ‘yes I can do this’ and you just carry on and believe in yourself.”
Esmay is treated by our Ophthalmologist, Miss Painter. Esmay said: “I enjoy seeing Miss Painter every six to twelve months to check how my vision is. She is really nice.
“I am visually impaired due to Marfans. My ankles click a lot too. Some people with Marfans can be flat-footed too, so they walk differently from other people and the condition also makes you really tall and quite thin. I have to go to a lot of appointments, and you will be in and out of appointments a lot.
“Having a visual impairment doesn’t impact me that much. The only thing is seeing the board. At the back of the class, I cannot see the board, but if I sit at the very front it will be perfect and clear. Teachers also come in to help me and read things out to me. I get an overlay for my work, which is blue. I also get extra time for exams.
“I think we should talk more and be more aware as a society of these conditions and the medical treatments.”
Esmay uses her condition to support other people. Her goal is to go into a caring profession, helping visually impaired people just like her Mum does. Esmay regularly helps her Grandma, who is blind, with shopping and getting around.
In her spare time Esmay volunteers at Guide Dog events helping facilitate activities including helping to put the special harnesses on the dogs. She plans to volunteer more when she is older. Esmay is a keen freestyle dancer and netballer too in the midst of all of the medical appointments for her ADHD and Marfan Syndrome.
Talia said: “She is literally on the go 24/7. Esmay is currently doing habilitation training to help her with routes to school as she struggles with her peripheral vision and depth perception due to Marfan Syndrome. She got to use liquid level indicators too to help with supporting her vision. She has no fear.”
The young school netballer said: “My conditions can often make me feel anxious and make school harder to focus on. I can sometimes feel not like myself but I mostly feel OK. I feel good. This is me. This is what I am.
“Sometimes I get a little sad and upset about my conditions, but I just get on with my day like everyone else.”
Esmay had a final message to other kids like her, who live with medical conditions: “I would say to anyone with a condition like me that you shouldn’t let anything get in your way even if someone picks on you."
“You should carry on. I used to get bullied for being so tall. I love being tall. I find it amazing. I didn’t let bullies get to me a lot.”
Find out more information about Marfan Syndrome
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6. The Advocate USA - Zachary High student brings awareness of visually impaired residents to East Baton Rouge Parish22 Oct 2024
Zachary High School senior Sa’Lynn Woodside has been a champion for the visually impaired throughout her high school career.
She is blind and uses a white cane. She can be seen moving about the high school campus independently and confidently with her cane.
Woodside has been a strong voice in the community bringing awareness of those who are visually impaired, the challenges that they face, and the many contributions that they can make.
Woodside has reached out to local businesses to update their menus, signage, etc. with braille options. She has also had White Cane Awareness Day declared in Zachary. This year, Zachary Mayor David McDavid and East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sharon Broome both declared Oct. 15 as White Cane Day.
On Oct. 8, Woodside attended the Zachary Council meeting where the proclamation was signed by McDavid. She was also invited to attend the Oct. 10 Metro Council meeting, where Broome signed a proclamation.
White Cane Day reminds residents to be cognizant of the visually impaired when going through their day. Motorists and cyclists, employers, schools, universities, businesses, etc. should all be aware of those carrying white canes and acknowledge their abilities, contributions and potential.
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7. The Bengaluru Live India - Association Of Visually Impaired People Holds Protest In Shimla Over Various Demands22 Oct 2024
Shimla, Oct 22 (PTI) The Himachal Blind Persons Association held a ‘chakka jam’ near the Himachal Pradesh Secretariat here on Tuesday in protest against the non-fulfilment of their demand of filling the backlog in government jobs for visually impaired people.
The protesters blocked the Sanjauli-Chotta Shimla road for about 30 minutes. There was also a minor scuffle between them and police personnel.
“We have been demanding for the filling of backlog posts for blind people for 362 days,” member of the association Rajesh Thakur said.
He said three to four meetings were held with authorities but no solution has come out.
“Only Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Health and Family Welfare Minister Dhani Ram Shandil can answer why our demands are not being accepted,” Thakur added.
The members of the association also warned that they came prepared with warm clothes and blankets, and would not leave the spot unless their demands were met and the government gave a written assurance.
Alleging that some police personnel threatened them, Thakur said the chief minister and police would be responsible if anything happened to the protesters in the night.
The association have also been demanding that the government should provide them with reservation and promotions as promised in a notification issued in 2021 and also extend the retirement age of all specially abled persons to 60 years.
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8. Canadian Paralympic Committee - Para athletes share employment successes and challenges22 Oct 2024
OTTAWA – If there is one thing Mac Marcoux, a Para alpine skiing Paralympic champion, probably learned as a high-performance athlete, it is to never give up and to capitalize on your opportunities.
The 27-year-old visually impaired Marcoux is currently the Coordinator, Athlete Engagement for the Canadian Paralympic Committee, his first foray into the administrative world since he capped a wildly successful career after the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and for Marcoux it is a time to acknowledge the importance of ensuring accessibility in workplaces and the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the Canadian workforce.
Despite his skills as a builder, Marcoux’s hopes to land employment in manual labour proved more challenging than expected.
The personable Marcoux couldn’t have found a better launching pad than his current role with CPC. It involves direct communication with other athletes.
‘’I’ve been having a blast,’’ he said. ‘’It’s been a revelation to share similarities and differences from my career with other athletes.’’
As for the trades, it is still a work in progress for employers to feel confident with people with a disability.
‘’It’s not as much as a vision impaired person can’t do those jobs, it’s more the apprehension surrounding hiring somebody with a disability, especially in the more blue-collar markets,’’ Marcoux said.
Dominic Frappier
Like Marcoux, Dominic Frappier is filled with positivity.
A football and track and field athlete for the Université de Sherbrooke Vert et Or team, he had just graduated in kinesiology when he broke his neck diving into a lake which left him tetraplegic.
That didn’t stop him from pursuing his goal to work in sports administration. He is currently Coordinator, Paralympic Performance & Services with CPC.
“I never back away from a challenge, every day for me is a challenge so that’s an advantage for me,” said Frappier, injured in 2019. ‘’Being an athlete, adversity doesn’t scare me, and I always look for the positive behind each situation.’’
Frappier was determined to find a job that matched his skills and his knowledge.
‘’Basically I met as many people as I could and applied for jobs on my own.”
Frappier mentioned that the shift to work from home has been a positive outcome from the pandemic for people with a disability.
‘’When you’re handicapped one of the toughest aspects of working is the travel to the office,’’ he said. ‘’Transportation can be difficult and sometimes the office is not fully accessible. Your home is completely adaptive.’’
Rob Shaw
Originally from North Bay, Ont., two-time Paralympian wheelchair tennis player Dr. Rob Shaw currently works in Kelowna, B.C. for Mitacs, a leading industry-research collaboration with UBC and SCI British Columbia that implements new evaluation tools to monitor the impact of peer support services for persons with spinal cord injury.
Shaw says employers need to broaden their horizons when it comes to hiring people with a disability.
‘’People with a disability can provide some unique insights to your organization,’’ said Shaw, who has a PhD in Health and Exercise Sciences at the University of British Columbia.
‘’There is also evidence that hiring someone with a disability stimulates workers’ performance. The financial barriers such as changing structures to your building are not real either.
‘’Give them a chance, give them an opportunity to see what they can do for your company, just like any other applicant.
‘’All we want is to be treated as equal.’’
Leanne Taylor
Winnipeg’s Leanne Taylor capped a super season at the 2024 Paralympic Games with a bronze medal in the women’s Para triathlon wheelchair division.
Taylor’s situation is different from Shaw, Frappier and Marcoux as she was already working with her current employer before her bike accident in 2018, which left her paraplegic. She works at Medicure as a compliance officer.
‘’It’s a challenge for anybody with a disability to go into an interview and they have this aspect that an employer is concerned with,’’ she said.
‘’This is what this month is about: helping employers realize that disabilities don’t decide what a person’s able to do in the workplace.’’
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9. KEYT USA - The Horse Project: Freedom for the Blind22 Oct 2024
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The Horse Project, a local non-profit, has teamed up with Blind Fitness to create an innovative program that uses the power of horses to help visually impaired individuals enhance their physical and emotional well-being.
At the heart of the project is a belief that blindness doesn’t have to limit one's ability to lead an active, empowered life.
“I learned how to do things without my vision in a very tactile way. I can get around without using my cane, which is insane to me," said Daniel Broz, a participant. "I learned that horses are unbelievably healing, that, being around Ruby just it's it's it's an incredible experience.”
As for participant Kimberly Ames, the horses to her bring her a gentle spirit.
Tune in on Thursday morning at 6 a.m.
We will hear more about Daniel and Kimberly story and how they have been impacted by The Horse Project.
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10. The New Indian Express - ‘Grand master’ going strong at 80 years23 Oct 2024
KASARGOD: Having dedicated his life to playing and promoting chess, K Rajan — an 80-year-old visually impaired chess trainer from Vidyanagar in Kasaragod — has been teaching chess to the blind for 49 years. And quite successfully too.
In what is a testament to his dedication, Rajan has so far trained over 100 visually impaired persons in chess, playing a major role in the development of the sport among the blind in the state. He also played a pivotal role in establishing the Kerala Chess Association for the Blind and led the organisation as its president for 25 years.
Himself a national-level chess player, Rajan is now preparing to head to Ahmedabad to support his wards who will be participating in the national team chess tournament in November.
“I started playing when I was in Class 2 and developed skills with other chess players. The game gives me great joy. When I lose, I don’t feel sad or angry. Instead, I’m happy to learn from the moves my opponents make,” Rajan told TNIE. He said there are chances that a majority of the senior blind chess players in Kerala are taught by him.
“Chess is a universally accessible game, with the rules designed to accommodate both sighted and blind players. The only difference is that the blind person has to touch and feel the board and pieces while making the moves,” he pointed out.
Rajan, who worked as a teacher, held chess sessions after his classes. After retiring from service, he took to playing chess actively. Driven by his passion, Rajan has selflessly dedicated his time to teaching chess to blind students across Kerala. Having started teaching chess in 1985, he competed for the first time at the national level in 1992, in a tournament in Kolkata.
Further, Rajan said when he visits the blind school in Vidyanagar, children would always come to play chess. “Chess helps them to be engaged and refreshes their mind,” he said.
‘CHESS GAVE ME CONFIDENCE’
One of Rajan’s trainees, 13-year-old Musthafa K from Bovikanam, is all set to compete in the upcoming national team chess tournament in Ahmedabad. Playing the chess for the past two years, Musthafa has only 20% vision in his left eye and is fully blind in his right. “I fell in love with chess after playing it. My teacher, Rajan, helped me understand the rules of the sport. Chess gave me confidence in life,” said Musthafa, who is a rated player.
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This Google Group news service has been made possible by courtesy of the Society of the Blind in Malaysia