News and issues on the disabled 19 Oct 2024
Azmi Anuar
Contents
1. KXAN USA - Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired educator charged with improper relationship with a student
2. RNIB UK - Bus Driver Swap Sessions Hit 50
3. Reuters - Phoenix police's violent arrest of deaf Black man with cerebral palsy criticized
4. The Journal USA - Charles Town Library purchases iPad to assist those with visual impairments, reading differences
5. C&G Newspapers USA - Volunteering an option for those seeking to bond with animals
6. BBC News UK - Westcliff blind campaigner calls for training for taxi drivers
7. Yahoo News UK - Amir Khan donates thousands to blind sports charity
8. Rail Magazine UK - New app to guide blind and partially sighted passengers around stations is launched across GTR
9. Slate USA - The Sneaky Tactic That Makes Uber and Lyft Worse for Everyone
10. Nile Post Uganda - Speaker Among Those to Run for the Blind
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1. KXAN USA - Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired educator charged with improper relationship with a student16 Oct 2024
AUSTIN — In an arrest affidavit filed Friday, an educator at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) was accused of having an improper relationship with a student related to an October 2023 incident.
Court documents identified 36-year-old Craig Edgley as the suspect in the investigation. As of Friday, Travis County court records showed an active warrant for Edgley’s arrest and police said he had not been taken into custody.
Edgley was employed at the school when the incident occurred, and according to court documents, is still employed at the school.
In a statement, TSBVI said Edgley was placed on leave after the school was notified of the accusation.
“We were made aware of an allegation against Mr. Edgley last year and at that time we placed him on leave pending law enforcement investigation. He remains on leave. We were not notified of the specific charges or of the actual arrest. We will reach out to the law enforcement agency for more information,” TSBVI Superintendent Emily Coleman told KXAN.
On Tuesday, the Texas Education Agency said it hadn’t received a report for Edgely. The TEA requires school leaders to report allegations of inappropriate relationships to the agency.
The school, located at 1100 W. 45th St. in central Austin, is a Texas special public school for students with a visual impairment and serves students ages six through 22.
The affidavit noted a teacher could be charged with an improper relationship between educator/student even if the student is 17 years of age or older.
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2. RNIB UK - Bus Driver Swap Sessions Hit 5016 Oct 2024
Image of blind and partially sighted passengers lining up outside a first bus in Scotland, holding 50 mile per hour speed limit signs to celebrate the 50th "swap with me" session.
Sight loss charity RNIB Scotland are marking their 50th "Swap with Me" event with trainee bus drivers across Scotland this week. The hands-on sessions help drivers better understand the experiences of blind and partially sighted passengers.
The sessions involve RNIB Scotland volunteers explaining the challenges they face when travelling on public transport and how the driver’s actions can help make bus travel as accessible as possible for all users. The charity began the sessions in 2023 and have since engaged over 500 drivers from across Lothian Buses, First Bus, and McGill’s.
At the 50th session, which was marked with First Bus in Aberdeen today, Friday 11 October, drivers had the opportunity to wear sim-specs; glasses that simulate different eye conditions to experience first-hand, the barriers that blind and partially sighted passengers face when trying to hail a bus, buy a ticket and board.
The drivers discussed their role and the part they play in making the journey as accessible as possible, while those with sight loss had a chance to sit in the cab to get a better sense of what the job entails from the driver's perspective.
Amanda Foster, an RNIB Scotland supporter who has taken part in previous ‘Swap-With-Me' events said:
“I particularly struggle knowing what type of bus I’m getting on, and often I’m not told where to scan my pass. It can also be tricky to know when to get off at the right stop without being told."
"It’s good to speak to drivers about exactly what barriers we face, and for the drivers to wear the sim-specs so they can have an idea what it’s like to have a visual impairment.”
Amanda Foster
Georgea Strachan, an RNIB Scotland supporter who took part in a previous event added:
"I really liked how conversational and informal it was, because it allowed the drivers to talk honestly about their own perspectives, as well as us talking about things we find difficult when taking the bus."
"It was very isolating sitting the driver’s cabin, you’re completely sealed in – there's only a small hole for you to help someone guide their hand towards the card machine, so I can see why it might be awkward for drivers."
"I hope that the drivers understand that blindness isn’t black and white, it is a spectrum. I don’t want them to be scared of all this information we’ve given them - just to use it in their training, and going forward to be more aware, and to help people in the future and keep them safe.”
Georgea Strachan
There are around 183,000 people in Scotland living with significant sight loss.
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3. Reuters - Phoenix police's violent arrest of deaf Black man with cerebral palsy criticized15 Oct 2024
Oct 15 (Reuters) - Civil and disability rights advocates expressed outrage on Tuesday after body camera footage was released showing Phoenix, Arizona, police violently arresting a Black man who was deaf and has cerebral palsy.
Tyron McAlpin, 34, was tasered and punched by two Phoenix officers named Benjamin Harris and Kyle Sue. McAlpin was charged with aggravated assault and resisting arrest. While the arrest took place in August, footage of the incident gained traction in multiple media outlets on Tuesday after its release on Monday.
NBC News reported that police body camera video and surveillance footage from the arrest was shared by one of McAlpin's attorneys.
The Arizona NAACP called for the officers to be placed on administrative leave until a full probe is conducted. "Tyron was not a suspect in an actual crime, he had not done anything wrong, and he also has communication challenges," said Andre Miller, an official at the civil rights organization.
The Arizona Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing said it was "disheartened" and has provided training material for officers to communicate with deaf, hard of hearing and blind Arizonans "yet these modules are not currently being used."
The Phoenix Police Department has previously been under scrutiny, with the U.S. Justice Department saying it discriminated against minorities and used excessive force.
NBC News said there was no indication that the officers knew McAlpin was deaf or had cerebral palsy before his arrest.
CBS News and NBC News said police were called to a convenience store where a man claimed he was assaulted when he tried to stop a theft while pointing to McAlpin as the culprit. CBS News said McAlpin was not facing charges related to those claims.
The Phoenix Police Department said it was probing the officers' actions.
McAlpin's lawyer denied wrongdoing and said his priority was to get what he called unjust charges dropped. McAlpin spent 24 days in jail before making bond, according to CBS News, and pleaded not guilty. The officers remained on duty as of Tuesday.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, the county's top prosecutor, said on Tuesday her office will review the case.
"I may reach a different conclusion, or I may not, but I believe this case merits additional scrutiny," Mitchell said.
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4. The Journal USA - Charles Town Library purchases iPad to assist those with visual impairments, reading differences16 Oct 2024
CHARLES TOWN — The Charles Town Library is expanding its services for those who are visually impaired or have reading differences with a new iPad that will assist them with reading.
The iPad was purchased through a grant from the National Federation of the Blind, a move that was spearheaded by Keryl Rustin, president of the Eastern Panhandle Chapter, who is visually impaired.
“Before the pandemic started in 2020, Keryl Rustin, who is visually impaired and is also now the president (of the National Federation of the Blind’s Eastern Panhandle Chapter), she was instrumental in trying to get funding to have some kind of device for those who are either visually impaired or who have some sort of learning difficulties, like dyslexia … so anybody who has reading differences, learning differences, visual differences, we were looking for a device,” said Marcella Genz, director of the Charles Town Library.
In the last several years, since the library started working toward getting a device, those devices have gotten smaller and cheaper. That pushed the library to apply for funding from the National Federation of the Blind.
“Interestingly enough, six years ago, there were really only these huge, sort of big, clunky devices out there that cost significant amounts of money. Time passes and technology gets better, so a little iPad device or the smartphone can do sort of everything that somebody who is having all of these difficulties can use to overcome these things,” Genz said.
“So, the iPad here is really, I think, more for people who come to the library and who are having problems reading, so this can help by using the camera to read a page, and then, the device will read a page to them. So, it can also read to somebody who is dyslexic, so somebody who is trying to learn to read could use this as a device to read along with,” Genz added.
“They can come to the library and try out things and then see if they actually want to get some device for themselves, because I do believe that ultimately, having your own personal device, if you’re using it a great deal of the time, makes a lot more sense than using the device at the library.”
The library’s main goal is to give those with visual impairments and reading differences the same opportunities as everyone else through use of the iPad, which features several apps, including One Step Reader, a text-recognition tool that provides text-to-speech, text-to-Braile and text highlighting for those with low vision or dyslexia.
“The key word here is accessibility. What we’re always trying to do is make information — not just reading but information — accessible to all who desire information, which I hope is everybody,” Genz said. “We are living in the information age, after all, so (it’s about) accessibility, providing equal opportunities to people who perhaps don’t have devices.”
Among the other apps that can be used are Seeing AI, Natural Reader, Voice Dream Radar, Vision for Blind People, Sign School and Microsoft Translator, which is available for people communicating with those who speak a different language.
“It’s very beneficial, because now, in today’s age and time, a device such as this, to help people, is, in my opinion, mandatory, because not only is a device such as this going to help people who are visually impaired and blind, but also, it’s going to help people who are dyslexic,” said Rustin, who helped the Martinsburg Public Library get a similar device about a decade ago.
“Ten, 12 years ago, that device was mainly for people who were visually impaired or blind, whereby, now, with the new technology, it can actually spawn into so many other different areas, whereby, the library is so integral as far as reaching out to the community and sharing with the community that something like this is available. There are many people who cannot afford a device such as this on their own.”
Genz said the library staff is available to help anyone who needs assistance with the iPad and the apps.
“We’re happy to basically instruct people on how to use this device. Say, for example, you have your own smartphone, which is basically just a smaller version of the iPad with a telephone, but you don’t really know about these apps that do exist to help. We can talk to you about them, demonstrate them to you, that kind of thing,” Genz said.
Genz said the goal is to eventually purchase another iPad, which would be available to be checked out. It all depends on how much the current iPad is used.
“We’re hoping that if this takes off, we can get another one, so it can be checked out for people,” she said. “If, and when, we decide that we need a second one, we will work together (with Rustin) to get additional funding.”
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5. C&G Newspapers USA - Volunteering an option for those seeking to bond with animals16 Oct 2024
METRO DETROIT — For those who seek to build bonds with animals, getting a pet is one way to go. But not everyone has the time or space to commit to a furry friend for years.
For those whose love of animals runs against their time or spatial commitments, volunteering may be a better approach.
Volunteering at an animal shelter is one way to help a variety of animals. At shelters like the one operated by Macomb County Animal Control, volunteers are able to work with or for the benefit of animals in many roles including working at adoption events, photographing pets, grooming animals, walking dogs, taking part in the feline friends group and helping greet people as they arrive.
“For people who can’t have an animal at home, I think it is the best of both worlds here because it is really hands-on,” Macomb County Animal Control operations assistant Lori Hampton said. “You can take dogs for a walk. You can help with enrichment. There are so many opportunities here that are just like owning a pet at home.”
Volunteers tend to vary in the pet-owning backgrounds, ranging from those who have never owned an animal to those who have spent their whole lives around them. Volunteering at the shelter allows people to interact with a wider number of pets than they may be used to. Aside from cats and dogs, the shelter houses birds, reptiles, pigs, rabbits and other such animals. Volunteers can also see what being around more common pets is like.
“A lot of (volunteers) are animal lovers,” Hampton said. “Perhaps they have recently lost a pet, and they are not ready to make that commitment to them, so it is very fulfilling to them to come in and fill that void of having a pet at home. They are also able to take pets for pets’ days out. A lot of our volunteers will take them to Metro Beach or Partridge Creek to socialize them.”
Getting involved with Macomb County Animal Control as a shelter volunteer involves filling out an application available at macombgov.org/departments/animal-control and going through orientation.
For those who are able to keep animals at home but may not be able to have pets for long periods of time, volunteer opportunities through Rochester Hills-based nonprofit Leader Dogs for the Blind can be a way to make connections with four-legged friends.
“We have more volunteers than we do team members, so we really could not do what we do without them,” said Christina Hepner, Leader Dog’s digital marketing manager. “The things that (volunteers) do for our mission is incredible. Volunteers really mean the world to us, and we are so thankful for them … They’re really essential to what we do every day.”
Leader Dog’s volunteering opportunities with animals fall into two categories: raising puppies and hosting a breeding dog.
“Raising a future Leader Dog is when you have the dog for 12-15 months and you’re going through basic obedience (training) with that dog,” Hepner said. “You’re teaching the dog to sit and stay and basic obedience, and you have so much support. You don’t have to have ever had a dog.”
Puppy-raising volunteers are backed by a counselor from the organization and the wider community of fellow Leader Dog volunteers. After the 12-15 months are up, the dog is returned to Leader Dogs for the Blind to begin its formal training to serve as guides for people with visual impairments. Some dogs are deemed “career changed,” meaning they may become a different kind of service dog or become available as a pet.
Puppy raising can be done as a single-household endeavor or it can be done by a group. Primary and secondary raisers can split rearing responsibilities, while corporate volunteers and some college campuses can raise a puppy as a team. Puppy raisers are given the opportunity to name their puppy as well.
Hosting breeding dogs allows volunteers the opportunity to live with a matured animal for a number of years and is more in line with traditional pet ownership.
“Once a breeding dog retires, they actually become a permanent member of your family. They retire and they get to be your house dog,” Hepner said. “We specifically need hosts who will host a Leader Dog mom, and the responsibility of that is about two years and the dog will have four litters in your home.”
Prior whelping experience is not required, and the Leader Dog vet team and breeding department are on standby to help volunteers, though ample space and the ability to provide regular exercise and care for the dogs is required. Puppies are kept for seven weeks after birth before being brought to the campus. Volunteers are also able to volunteer for a partial period; they can be non-whelping or specifically whelping volunteers, as well as host a breeding dog for a limited amount of time.
To volunteer with Leader Dogs for the Blind, interested people are asked to attend monthly informational sessions on the first Wednesday of each month for puppy raising and the third Wednesday for breeding dog hosting. Applications are available at www.leaderdog.org/volunteer.
Informational sessions are held remotely and in person at the Rochester Hills campus.
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6. BBC News UK - Westcliff blind campaigner calls for training for taxi drivers17 Oct 2024
Mrs Allen-King fully lost her sight at 24, and since then she has campaigned for better access rights for blind and partially sighted people.
She came up with the idea for textured pavements at road crossings and was given an OBE for services to disabled people.
The campaigner said waiting for a taxi with a guide dog could be "very depressing, especially in the winter in the freezing cold and the pouring rain".
"I used to have to wait a long while [for a taxi]," she said. "If they [the drivers] came without realising [I had a dog], they would drive off. I used to wait ages at Chalkwell Station.
"The person waiting with me to get the taxi could see the drivers coming along the road, then see my dog and wouldn’t stop.
“I stopped going to one meeting in Whitechapel Road because I had to wait so long."
Her beloved guide dog Jagger in February, and she is on a waiting list for a replacement.
She added: "A lot of people just won't travel anymore because they can't get the assistance.
"They need assistance from a driver, and drivers aren't always prepared to do that."
A spokesperson for the National Private Hire & Taxi Association said drivers have been prosecuted in the past for refusing to take a guide dog when they are not exempt.
They added: "The only time a taxi or private hire driver can refuse a guide dog or disabled person is if they have a medical exemption issued by a doctor.
"They are duty-bound to carry all disabled passengers under the disabled persons act".
And they advised: "If they have booked through a private hire operator, they should report it to the operator, who should then send another vehicle."
Additional reporting from the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
A blind woman wants taxi drivers to complete a passenger assistance training course after claiming she has been refused lifts because she has a guide dog.
Jill Allen-King, who is in her 80s and lives in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, said she had been denied a taxi on many occasions over the last 10 years. "There were certain drivers who wouldn’t take my dog," she said.
Southend Labour councillors have joined her appeal to urge the council to make new taxi drivers complete the training, which includes assistance dogs and the Equality Act 2010.
A study for Guide Dogs charity, found 58% of guide dog owners had been refused access by taxi drivers in 2024 and 22% were charged extra for their guide dog.
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7. Yahoo News UK - Amir Khan donates thousands to blind sports charity17 Oct 2024
A former world championship boxer has donated thousands of pounds in aid of a Blackburn-based charity.
The Amir Khan Foundation, set up by Bolton boxer Amir Khan, donated £2,000 to a fundraiser launched by Blackburn Blind Sports, which provides sports sessions to the blind and visually impaired.
Charity chair Mohammed Salim Patel set up the fundraiser three weeks ago, aiming to raise nearly £19,000 for specialist equipment including goalball goals, court marking tape and other equipment.
An impressive £18,719 has been raised at the time of writing.
Mohammed, who is blind, set up the service in November because he was frustrated at the lack of sports available to the blind and partially sighted in Blackburn and across Lancashire.
Goalball (team sport designed specifically for athletes with a vision impairment), at Bangor Street, and blind tennis, at Blackburn Northern Sports Club, is currently being offered by the organisation.
He said: “In November I set up the club because the council and local charities weren’t offering anything for us.
“I was eager to get some competitive sports opportunities going. I knew from other people that there was a demand and interest and that people wanted to get out and play sport.
“We’ve been getting by up until now but we are playing without proper equipment.
“it’s frustrating and it gets me angry sometimes. Why should it be down to me to sort this?
"Councils and charities should have an obligation to do this, but because they are not I have to sort it.”
Mohammed said the sports give visually impaired people a chance to socialise.
He said: “A lot of blind people face isolation due to their difficulties in getting out and about. This has improved their self-esteem and confidence, as well as their physical and mental health.
"It has given people something to look forward to and a bit of a purpose.
“Anyone who has a visual impairment should be able to get out and play sport. That need wasn’t being met so it fell to me to do this.
"It wasn’t easy because I was managing a full-time job but the smiles on people’s faces after a session makes it all worth it.”
Mohammed said he is “taken aback” by the level of support shown by the public. Money will go towards new equipment, marketing and possibly transportation costs.
He said: “I am thankful to everyone who has donated. If we reach the target that is when we will receive a council pledge of £7,000. The money makes a big difference
“Funds will also go towards marketing. We want to recruit more people and get the message out there to people in Lancashire that we are here.
“Hopefully we can get transport for people as that is one barrier we face. People can’t drive and public transport might not be accessible so if we can sort transport, such as taxi’s, to us then hopefully more people can come along.”
To donate to the fundraiser visit www.spacehive.com and search ‘Blackburn Blind Sports Equipment Costs’.
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8. Rail Magazine UK - New app to guide blind and partially sighted passengers around stations is launched across GTR16 Oct 2024
A new app to help blind and partially sighted customers is being rolled out across more than 200 stations today.
The Aira Explorer guidance app is being made available across the Govia Thameslink Railway network having been trialed at a dozen since March.
Users can make a video call and be guided around the station by a trained advisor who looks through the customer’s smartphone camera.
A total of 236 stations run by Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink are now covered by the app in a project run by the GTR in collaboration with Sight Loss Councils.
TR Accessibility Lead Carl Martin said: “We want everyone to be able to use our services, regardless of their disability or need for assistance.
“This app helps blind and partially sighted people travel independently, whether that’s to locate a member of staff for assistance when they first arrive at the station or to simply find the ticket office or grab a coffee.
“Having successfully trialed this, we’re now making it freely available to use at all our managed stations. We’re really grateful to Sight Loss Councils and Thomas Pocklington Trust for helping us introduce this.”
The Aira Explorer app can be downloaded from the Apple Store or Google Play.
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9. Slate USA - The Sneaky Tactic That Makes Uber and Lyft Worse for Everyone16 Oct 2024
Last year, former U.S. Circuit Court Judge David Tatel, who is blind, was denied a Lyft ride to court when a driver refused to accept his guide dog.
It should not be necessary to state this, but: People who are blind deserve full access to trains, airplanes, and other transportation services—like Uber and Lyft—that are open to the general public. Our shared values of inclusion and human decency demand it, and federal, state, and local laws prohibit discrimination based on disability status.
But Uber and Lyft have a history of failing to prevent discrimination against people with disabilities, including those with guide dogs. On Tuesday, which was Blind Americans Equality Day, the National Federation of the Blind held a rally at the San Francisco headquarters of Uber and Lyft to highlight this persistent discrimination and to call for change, with participants accompanied by guide dogs demanding that companies “Respect Our Right to Ride.”
The two corporations have been sued for various types of discrimination against people with disabilities a number of times, including by the Department of Justice, which reached a settlement with Lyft in 2020 and with Uber in 2022. A survey released in May by Guide Dogs for the Blind found that 83 percent of respondents had experienced rideshare denials. A 2020 San Francisco County report found that less than half of all wheelchair-accessible vehicle trip requests to Uber and Lyft were served, despite a state program helping subsidize such trips. And some customers with disabilities have shared incidents on social media in which food delivery workers won’t bring their order to their door.
Such discrimination is unacceptable and must stop. Uber and Lyft would like us to believe that it’s a matter of a few rogue drivers who didn’t get the memo. They want to pit struggling workers against customers with disabilities. But the corporations are the problem. In fact, their gig business model by its very nature makes this kind of discrimination far more likely to occur and persist.
Instead of following the same rules that every other employer must follow—from the diner on the corner to the megacorporation at your local mall—these gig companies refuse to treat their workers as employees. Rather, they engage in the fiction that each driver or delivery worker is running their very own totally independent car-driving or delivery business.
This model’s harmful impact on workers has been well documented: low earnings, pay determined by mysterious algorithms, and virtually no help when they’re injured or killed on the job. But gig companies’ failure to abide by employment laws enables discrimination and other harms to riders.
For starters, the gig business model disincentivizes Uber and its peers from training and supervising their workforces in relation to discrimination. Because gig corporations insist they’re not employers, they face a conundrum: They don’t want the reputational harm caused by discrimination incidents, but they also want an arm’s-length relationship with their workforce, and taking steps to meaningfully train workers and actually ensure access for all makes them look more like employers.
Indeed, when sued for discrimination involving riders with disabilities, Uber and Lyft have both stated that the Americans With Disabilities Act doesn’t even apply to their operations. This is their explicit position in court filings the wider public is unlikely to see. When Uber was sued for discrimination by the National Federation of the Blind in 2014, the company’s motion to dismiss repeatedly emphasized its role not as drivers’ employer but instead as a mere “conduit between passengers looking for transportation and transportation providers looking for passengers.” Uber maintained this same position about disability discrimination in a 2022 case by the U.S. Department of Justice, and Lyft has made similar arguments. Imagine airlines trying this line: “Anti-discrimination laws don’t apply to us because we don’t hire pilots; we just connect them with passengers who want to go someplace.”
The companies’ deeply problematic assertion that the ADA doesn’t apply to them is one of many examples of gig corporations’ belief that they should be exempt from our most basic laws related to the marketplace and to work. The problem goes deeper still. Gig companies’ business model involves transferring immense financial risk to their workers. Workers put in excessive amounts of uncompensated time when they don’t have passengers—it can be around 40 percent of work time for Uber and Lyft drivers. And with few exceptions, drivers are responsible for all vehicle expenses, with no reimbursement whatsoever: gas, maintenance, cleaning, insurance. If gas prices go up, that’s on the worker. If a worker gets a ticket for idling while bringing food upstairs to the home of a person with limited mobility, that ticket is paid out of the worker’s own pocket. If a given passenger requires more time than the average rider, Uber and Lyft won’t pay a nickel more; the driver alone is on the hook.
The companies, then, have created this lose-lose situation in which grossly underpaid workers end up denying services urgently needed by people with disabilities (and required by law), like accommodating wheelchair users and guide dogs. If drivers and delivery workers were—as employees are—paid for all hours worked, paid minimum wage and overtime, and compensated for all work-related expenses, the overarching incentives would be different. To be sure, proper classification alone wouldn’t eradicate all discrimination, as people whose wheelchairs have been destroyed during air travel can attest. But it would go a long way toward improving the current situation.
The question of Uber and Lyft drivers’ employment status has been fought over for the past decade, and unfortunately, corporate money has typically determined policy outcomes. People with disabilities shouldn’t have to wait until the broader issue of classification is ultimately resolved. Uber and Lyft should take action and ensure that people with disabilities have access to their services now. But in doing so, the corporations should take responsibility for additional costs, rather than unilaterally foisting them on poorly paid workers.
Uber and Lyft may portray drivers who refuse to accept guide dogs as isolated bad apples, but truly solving this problem will be challenging as long as these corporations continue to disclaim responsibility for the people who perform their core work.
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10. Nile Post Uganda - Speaker Among Those to Run for the Blind17 Oct 2024
Kampala – The Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, will headline a monumental fundraising marathon to raise funds for the government's quest to provide 10,000 white canes for the blind.
Tjhe “Run for the Blind” event takes place on November 17, State Minister for Disability Affairs Hellen Grace Asamo said, and will coincide with the observance of International White Cane Day, which will be celebrated later this year to promote awareness about the rights and needs of the visually impaired community.
In her statement, Minister Asamo emphasized the significance of the event, which aims to raise 10,000 white canes for individuals with blindness.
“The national theme for this year, ‘A White Cane for Every Blind Person,’ underscores our commitment to creating a safer and more inclusive environment for all Ugandans, particularly those with visual impairments,” she said.
The marathon, which begins at 6am at Kati Kati Grounds in Lugogo, is designed not only to promote the use of white canes as essential mobility aids but also to encourage public participation in fostering accessibility for persons with disabilities.
The event will conclude with a closing ceremony at 10pm, presided over by Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, who will serve as the Chief Guest.
Minister Asamo urged Ugandans to rally behind this noble cause, stressing the importance of breaking down accessibility barriers faced by the visually impaired.
“Many individuals with blindness struggle to access essential services such as education, healthcare, and employment due to mobility challenges. This event is crucial for raising awareness and funding to support their needs,” she remarked.
White canes serve as vital tools for independence and mobility, enabling visually impaired individuals to navigate their surroundings safely.
“The white cane is not just a symbol; it is an essential device that empowers individuals to live independently and confidently,” Minister Asamo explained.
Fundraising Initiatives
Participants wishing to join the marathon can register using the MTN MoMo Code 710075 or Airtel Pay Code 4370414, with registration fees set at Shs25,000.
Donations can also be made through UBA Bank, A/C 0103017389, in the name of the Uganda National Association of the Blind. All proceeds from the marathon will be directed towards purchasing the much-needed white canes for the visually impaired community.
Uganda has made commendable strides in disability inclusion, as highlighted by Minister Asamo.
The government has ratified international agreements such as the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the African Union Protocol on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
“Uganda was among the first countries to ratify the CRPD and has since amended its national policies to align with these international standards,” she noted.
The government has also established 37 special primary schools and 20 secondary schools dedicated to children with visual impairments, ensuring access to quality education.
Moreover, there are special quotas in place for the admission of students with disabilities in public universities, allowing many to pursue various courses annually.
The government is committed to improving healthcare access, employment opportunities, and social inclusion for persons with disabilities.
“For the first time, we now have a magistrate with visual impairment serving in the judiciary, along with several other officials in various ministries,” Minister Asamo said.
As the marathon approaches, Minister Asamo urged every Ugandan to participate actively, stating, “Together, we can ensure that no person with visual impairment is left behind. A white cane for every blind person is not just a dream; it is our collective responsibility.”
The event promises to be a significant step forward in promoting the rights and inclusion of persons with visual impairments in Uganda.
With the support of community members, the government, and various partners, the initiative seeks to create a more equitable society for all.
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This Google Group news service has been made possible by courtesy of the Society of the Blind in Malaysia