Visually impaired students progressing

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor,
I am enthused by the attitude of public relations officer for the Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities, who seems enthused, as he is all about empowering members of the blind community. Notice that I am bold in using the word ‘blind’. He says that he does not care, since indeed the subject is about blindness, even if sometimes it is just partial blindness for the person. The good thing is that amidst the setback, some 17 students are preparing for the 2014 May/ June Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination. This is because positive things have been happening within the blind and outlying areas across the country.
Four of the students accessing online classroom sessions are from Berbice and Linden, while there are 13 students in the classroom. The number limit is to ensure that each student be given individual attention. This is indeed something worth celebrating. The task is onerous but realistic – notes, handouts and all other work material are computerised and electronic in nature and the syllabus is being taught electronically.
Supporting these people is Guyana Telephone and Telegraph with free DSL internet bandwidth so that the students can conduct research.
My mind goes to India, where life can be very hard for many of the country’s visually impaired people. Statistics of recent show that, in India, there are 22 blind males and 28 blind females for every 100,000 people. The number of the blind in India is estimated to be 13 million and this is a growing figure. The count alone is frightening. As for the plight, that is very unfortunate, especially for those in the rural areas, as many resort to street begging and dependency as their only means of survival.
So Guyana can say that things are looking up.
Yours truly,
Satya Gopiechand

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