GUYANA Society for the Blind, yesterday, received 72 canes, from Minister of Health, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran, to aid the mobility and independence of some members.

The handing over took place at the Society’s headquarters in St. Phillip’s Green, Georgetown.
Receiving the gifts was Board Member/Teacher, Ganesh Singh, who said that they will be distributed to the 70 active of the 120 members.
He said they are absolutely necessary for any blind person and form an integral part of their independent movement.
Singh was grateful for the donation and expressed his gratitude for it.
Ramsaran said it was his second visit to the institution for the year and he was pleased to be there, noting that the visually impaired can benefit from the much needed canes acquired through his ministry.
The Blind Society has been in existence since 1950 and, over the years, it has grown with the support of several agencies including the Health Ministry.
The society is, presently, hosting several students, who would be sitting the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) tests tomorrow and have adapted an electronic approach, deemed the first of its kind through a pilot programme it initiated.

UTILISING COMPUTERS
The candidates are utilising computers secured from the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) project and, tomorrow, they will be given clean ones to write the examination at a designated location.

They will be writing five subjects now but, in September, two others would be introduced and the programme would be manned by trained teachers.
Using the same curriculum as regular students, the electronic educational programme is blind friendly and has not been modified.
Singh said the candidates will embark on a six weeks internship training to get a feel of the work environment.
Apart from the education process, the Blind Society also hosts monthly medical outreaches for its membership every second Wednesday, when a doctor and a team engage about 50 persons under the Ministry of Finance Basic Needs Trust Fund Programme.
Singh said there is a literacy programme, computer, sewing and cooking classes, all for the visually impaired and, in addition, steel pan sessions. (Michel Outridge)