Ghana yesterday joined the rest of the world to commemorate International White Cane Day with a call on government to invest in technological devices needed by visually-impaired persons in order to help them reach their full potentials.
The Country Programme Coordinator of the Holistic Development Programme for Visually Impaired Children (HODVIC), Jeremiah Badu Shayar, said cost and access to assistive devices for the visually impaired population in Ghana remained a challenge compounding their vulnerability, to be able to lead meaningful lives. "Investing in these devices will help make them affordable and accessible for the blind to ensure they are supported in areas such as academics to improve their learning, professional life among others," he said.
On the theme "The white cane, a symbol for access for total inclusion and celebrating abilities," this year's celebration by the GBU was supported by SIC, Opportunity International Savings and Loans, Goil Ghana Limited, VFS Ghana Limited, Ghana National Gas Company Limited, and Gokals-Laborex Limited.
Mr Shayar made reference to many advanced and developing countries which had made progress in ensuring social inclusion to allow for vulnerable groups like the visually impaired to live normal. "In Ethiopia for instance, a simple mp3 has all the textbooks of the children from class one to class six on it, so the child who is blind and in school would just listen if it is English or whatever subject it is, the child would just play and listen to it and learn progressively but this cannot be said in Ghana and these are examples we must emulate," he said.