Jamaica Society for the Blind seeks to expand training options

The Jamaica Society for the Blind is seeking the public's assistance in purchasing a property which will be used to assist blind and visually impaired persons who live outside of Kingston.

"We want to make a groundbreaking move as ... we want to assist persons who live in rural areas so that they can come into Kingston for training, seeing that our reach is far. We would love to partner with whomever out there to give us assistance to make this project a reality. When we browse around, we are looking at about $15 million for the purchase and probably another $6 million for the repairs," said chairman of the organisation, Daemion McLean.

The organisation will kick off its observance of World Sight Day, which is today, with a health fair and scholarship grant. Speaking with THE STAR yesterday, McLean said the fair is a part of the entity's drive to sensitise people about vision care, sight preservation and blindness prevention strategies.

"Every year we mark the day with a health fair and it went on a break throughout the pandemic, but we are back. We will be having vision screening and from those we will be making referrals. We will also be having other medical checks, including blood pressure, glucose, etc. We will also be having a lunch-hour concert and we have a scholarship programme, and we will be making an award during the lunch-hour concert as well," McLean said.

World Sight Day marks an opportunity to raise awareness about retinal diseases and showcase the community's commitment to supporting the millions of people nationwide living with preventable vision loss. The theme for this year is 'Love Your Eyes', reinforcing the significance of treating one's eyes with the care they deserve. The day is a significant opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of routine eye exams, which are crucial for maintaining ocular health, particularly in people who are prone to illness or who have chronic conditions like diabetes.

McLean said the blind community continues to soar in its achievements.

"We can speak of the [Senator] Floyd Morris, [musician] Grub Cooper and Fab Five. We have been successful in the classroom, information technology world and just about any and every field we are soaring. Imagine a totally blind person being in the IT field. Our accomplishments are far and wide. In terms of the Society for the Blind, we are a 68-year-old organisation providing a wide range of services for the blind and visually impaired persons. It is a place that is managed and run by blind persons as well, and we stand out in the Caribbean for that kind of work," he said.