See (third left), accompanied by Ying (on his left), receives a rattan basket as a memento from one of the trainees during the International White Cane Day 2018 celebration held at Kuching Blind Centre.
KUCHING: The Sarawak Society for the Blind (SSB) plans to tackle the high rate of unemployment among legally blind or visually-impaired individuals through capacity-building courses.
According to SSB Kuching chairman Ying Ten Ping, the organisation shall either hold the courses on its own or through a collaboration with the National Council for the Blind Malaysia.
“Some (of these) capacity-building courses would be considered as stress management course, human resources management and business-related skills,” he said in his welcoming address at the International White Cane Day 2018 celebration in the Kuching Blind Centre yesterday.
He also said the National Council for the Blind Malaysia had initiated the ‘Employment Support Scheme’ for adaptive equipment loan, training to use assistive technology and a monthly internship allowance for six months.
Government-linked agencies, he added, were also encouraged to hold ‘Certified Professional Development’ (CPD) courses for the blind.
Moreover, he said the centre here also provides job-placement services for blind individuals who have completed their public examinations namely Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM), or those who hold vocational certificates or are university graduates.
“Any blind or visually-impaired individuals who require any assistance for employment are advised to contact the Job Placement Unit at this centre.”
Meanwhile Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How, who officiated at the event yesterday, encouraged the blind and visually-impaired individuals to go the extra mile and have greater goals.
“This International White Cane Day is also to celebrate the achievements of the blind and visually-impaired individuals who have succeeded through perseverance and hard work.”
See also shared the success stories of several visually-impaired individuals with those attending, adding that there are many things that they could achieve if given the right opportunities.
See also gave credit to Minister of Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah for her dedication in looking into the plight of the blind and visually-impaired community in Sarawak.
The White Cane Day is an international awareness-raising event that celebrates the importance of the ‘white cane’ and also promotes a safe environment for these cane users.
It takes place in October each year and is observed worldwide in recognition of the movement of the blind people from dependency to full participation in society.
In this sense, SSB provides mobility training for the blind, particularly the newly blind, to move around the environment freely and independently – this is known as the ‘Orientation and Mobility Training’.
The orientation-mobility instruction is usually conducted on a one-to-one basis, and can take place at the centre here, where it is one of the ongoing training projects under the rehabilitation programme for the blind.
Other training courses held at SSB Kuching are ICT and Braille learning, rattan basketry, blind massage/reflexology and floor-rug making.