[nfbwatlk] FW: [List] Happy White Cane Day!

[Mike Freeman]

From: list-bounces at cfb.ca [mailto:list-bounces at cfb.ca] On Behalf Of
list at cfb.ca
Sent: Monday, October 15, 2012 7:58 PM
To: list at cfb.ca
Subject: [List] Happy White Cane Day!

 

>From Elizabeth

This excelent article, by our CFB secratary Doris Belusic, was published in
the Victoria Times Colonist last year. 

Today is CFB White Cane Day!

-

White Cane Day and blindness issues

Victoria Times-Colonist

(2011-10-15)

Ask any blind person how they feel about their white cane, and the answer, 
ultimately, is that it's an extremely valuable tool.



The white cane is basic, but it's essential to a blind person's ability to
move 
about and to be independent.



The cane is usually made of fibreglass, carbon fibre or metal. Held in one
hand, 
it is swung side to side, to give information about one's route, including 
obstacles, curbs, stairs and doorways. A white cane identifies a person as 
legally blind.



The white cane offers capability, independence, problem-solving, safety and 
empowerment to blind people. It is a symbol of freedom and pride.



The Canadian Federation of the Blind, an all-volunteer, grassroots
organization 
of blind people, has chosen Oct. 15 to celebrate White Cane Day. CFB wishes
to 
highlight the importance of the white cane, as well as to point out two
issues 
which negatively affect blind people in Canada.



Really good white-cane travel training or, for that matter, really good 
blindnessskills training, is not available in Canada. There is no
government, 
publicly funded and accountable blindness skills training for anyone who
needs 
it.



A few lucky blind people have been able to privately fund attendance at one
of 
three world-renowned intensive training centres in the United States. In
these 
nine-month programs, blind people learn all necessary skills to live as 
productive and independent citizens. Our government needs to step up to its 
responsibility so that all blind people have access to this type of really
good 
intensive training



The second issue is quiet electric cars which cannot easily be heard by
blind 
pedestrians and are accidents waiting to happen.



Doris Belusic



Victoria

-------------- next part --------------
An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed...
Name: Untitled attachment 00245.txt
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbwatlk_nfbnet.org/attachments/20121015/0a9278f9/attachment.txt>