HER fingers poised expectantly over the keyboard of her laptop, aslim, young lady with short, straight hair sits and waits, listening intently. Seated next to her, a young man begins to read in a clear voice from a thick school textbook in front of him.
FOCUSED: An ICT class in full session.
The young lady proceeds to type confidently into her laptop as her male companion continues to read aloud.
To an observer, this would seem like an ordinary scene of two friends studying in a computer lab until the young lady stops typing and presses certain keys on her laptop.
Slowly and clearly, a pleasant synthetic voice emits from the laptop’s speakers, repeating back to her and her friend what she has just typed.
Only then will the observer realise there is something unusual about these two individuals. The young lady is totally blind while her companion only has partial sight.
To many people, being visually impaired automatically disqualifies a person from fully taking part in many activities because of the huge physical, mental and social obstacles visual impairment traditionally carries.
But thanks to ICT and ICT literacy programmes such as those offered by the Sarawak Society For The Blind (SSB) in Kuching, the visually impaired are learning that this is not necessarily true, and are slowly but surely changing the wider public perception about what blind people can do with computers. thesundaypost met with Ying Ten Ping, SSB deputy president and chairman of the Kuching Division branch, and Dusim Oh Siong, an SSB Kuching committee member, chairman of the ICT subcommittee, and also a volunteer ICT instructor, to find out more about how computers and ICT are changing the way the visually impaired communicate and engage with the world around them.
According to Ying, the main objectives of SSB’s ICT literacy programmes are to help the blind and the visually impaired improve their professional and personal lives, enhance their productivity and employment prospects, help them gain wider access to information and increase their ability to participate in and interact with society.
Dusim knows firsthand how acquiring ICT knowledge and skills can drastically change the lives of the visually impaired. Blind since the age of four, Dusim understands well the physical, mental and emotional frustrations and barriers that blind people are faced with, not just from the people around them but from their own selves.
A few years ago, he was given the opportunity to undergo ICT training in Japan. Since his return, he has been a vocal and enthusiastic supporter of advancing ICT literacy and skills among the visually impaired community in Kuching.
Dusim told thesundaypost among the biggest impacts ICT has had on his life is increasing his ability to access information and communicate and socialise with people.
He uses his computer to catch up on news online, email and chat with people, read blogs and even play games.
He emphasised what most blind people wanted is to be able to participate and be included in society and ICT can play a prominent role in helping them to do this.
Good Response
Since the ICT programme at SSB first started in 2007, about 100 people comprising school children and adults, have taken up the courses.
Not everyone who comes to learn at the centre was born visually impaired, Dusim clarified.
Some were born with normal vision, only to have their sight deteriorate in later years, or to have their vision damaged through accidents. Some manage to retain partial sight while others become totally blind.
Some of the adults who have come to learn ICT at the centre are newly blind. Others were sent there by their employers in the government and private sectors to learn computing skills.
Currently, SSB offers courses on using MS Office applications (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Access, FrontPage, Outlook), internet use (web browsing, web email, web design) and digital media.
They have also conducted courses on computer maintenance and ICT literacy.
Recently, they organised a course on web design and accessibility together with a large local computing services company.
Dusim hopes that SSB will soon be able to conduct a course on blogging.