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Blind capable of taking the lead
Deur
Desirée Rorke @dezzierorke
12 April 2016 12:57
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Global adventurer Hein Wagner
Forrest Gump had it wrong. Life is not a box of chocolates, it's a kaleidoscope.
With the flip of a wrist realities are shredded and the world takes on a totally
new shape.
Fitting words to depict the experience of the blind; spoken by executive head
Freddie
Botha last Wednesday evening when the Institute of the Blind celebrated its
135-year
history.
To mark the occasion the institute, for the first time ever, changed its name.
It
will now be known as Kaleidoscope, changing its focus to being a commercially
viable
entity, with a rousing pay-off line: "Let the blind lead". This, according to
Hein
Wagner, Kaleidoscope's brand ambassador, places the focus on visually impaired
persons
as complete citizens in the community capable of taking the lead in society.
Dinner to mimic blindness
The point was powerfully illustrated with a Dinner in the Dark event, unlike any
this journalist has ever seen.
The windowless dining hall at Langverwacht Wine Estate in Kuils River was pitch
black,
entered into through a heavily draped black tunnel to eliminate every point of
light
and shade. This attempted to mimic complete blindness and organisers made very
sure
they missed nothing when cellphones, cameras and anything that could possibly
provide
light were confiscated at the door in a somewhat fascist manner.
Wagner, who has been blind since birth, explained total blindness as "not only
the
absence of light, but also a complete loss of depth perception, the ability to
determine
distances between objects and see the world in three dimensions, with no option
of
reprieve".
If this was not immediately understood by diners when they entered the hall, it
soon
became very clear. A menacing nothingness - pitch black, heavy and flat -
wrapped
up your entire consciousness to threaten your very existence.
For some, strangely this was a cue to give way to their inner boisterousness,
whereas
for most, I imagine, the darkness was oppressive.
I for one couldn't keep my eyelids open after only a few minutes and cowered
down
to protect myself from the overpowering darkness. It is hard to say exactly when
one's other senses kick in, but mercifully they do, and when this happens you
can
somewhat relate to Wagner when he says "welcome to the magical world of the
blind".
Wagner, despite his blindness, has many accomplishments to his name and lived by
the motto that "Impossible is Nothing".
He ran the Antarctica, Two Oceans and New York marathons, completed several Cape
Town Cycle Tours, tackled the white waters of the Zambezi River, not to mention
climbing
the ten highest mountains in the Western Cape. He was the perfect host in a most
bizarre setting - sighted people having fun at being "blind".
Diners enthusiastically piped out at how magnificent it was to actually smell
the
ingredients in the salads they were eating, as if feta cheese suddenly tasted
better
- sardonic, but true.
A crew of blind and partially blind waitrons were our only salvation and in the
proverbial
land of the blind, Erasmus' one-eyed man was truly king.
These waitrons expertly guided every lost soul to their exact seats at the
tables,
to the restrooms when needed, passed the wine, found the cutlery and served a
plated
three course meal. Astonishing.
"Blind people in the modern world are often unseen; invisible to a sighted
society,
and we want to change that because the blind have such unlimited potential and
so
much to offer to the world," said Botha. "Human awareness can be likened to a
kaleidoscope
and we know that with a simple twist of perception so much can be revealed. This
is what has led us to the new name for the refreshed, revived Institute for the
Blind."
The institute presently receives only 15% of government aid and is therefore
solely
responsible for the generation of 85% of the total operational expenses.
"It is therefore important that we should strive to become more self-sustainable
to ensure a future for our persons who are visually impaired," Wagner explains.
He says the institute is setting up sustainable partnerships with local and
international
business entities to strengthen the brand and grow its product offering. "By
raising
the bar in becoming a world leader in all things blind related, our aim is to
inspire
the blind and sighted alike to be successful - no matter the challenge."
97% of visually impaired unemployed
Wagner says the name change reflects an international character and opens doors
to
new opportunities, projects and funding.
"A few of our goals include the development of a one-stop resource centre for
blind
and deaf-blind persons at our information centre, the establishment of a modern
technology
training centre at our adult career development department, the marketing of the
institute as one of the best tourist attractions in South Africa, and to
establish
more viable partnerships with the corporate sector and businesses as well as to
enhance
existing partnerships."
He says they are also in the process of transforming the production units to
become
more sustainable. Already innovative products have been launched including a new
coffee brand, wine etiquettes, cane, weaving, wood, mattress, metal, arts,
crafts
production and sales.Employment is one of the biggest challenges the blind face
in
South Africa - this is evident in light of the fact that 97% of the visually
impaired
are unemployed.
"It is also our goal to create more opportunities for job placement of visually
impaired
persons in the open labour market," he adds.
Public ignorance and society's general lack of knowledge of the blind, expensive
assistive devices and training, inaccessibility, school training and provision
of
Braille text books are other major challenges the institution faces.
Peadar Hegarty, who works with the team as a strategic advisor, says that the
new
positioning will help Kaleidoscope change how the world sees the blind.
"Kaleidoscope projects inspiration, emanating from this wonderful community of
blind
and deaf blind persons who, far from seeing themselves as disabled, actually
live
their lives as people of unimaginable ability."
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