Enhancing the ‘mental maps’ of the visually impaired

INDIA — The Special Audiences Department of the Bible Society of India (BSI) began producing Scriptures in formats appropriate to the country’s 12 million blind and partially-sighted people in 1985. Initially products were limited to a few Braille pocket calendars and a Gospel in one or two Indian languages.

Then from 1992, with the availability of new Braille versions of Indian languages, production expanded into a wide range of publications including Bible Portions, New Reader Scriptures for visually handicapped children, and audio materials for visually handicapped people of other faiths.

With a view to continuing to develop its ministry, the Society has recently reacted to the prompting of a blind man who found his way into the Central Office in Bangalore one day in search of Braille Scriptures and a calendar.

White cane

“It would be good if you could give me a white cane, too,” he said, “for easy mobility.”

White canes are not as common in India as in some other parts of the world: in rural parts of the country it is rare to see a blind person using a cane – in fact, blind people seldom go out unaccompanied. In towns and cities, though, the cane is becoming more common as an aid.

More than sighted people can ever realise, the cane is a great aid to blind people’s mobility.

People who have been blind from birth or who lose their sight before adulthood can sharpen their other senses, particularly touch, hearing and smell. When used by people who have been able to do this, a cane can enhance their ‘mental map’ (of the objects in their immediate environment) enormously. It does not just provide information about the height, size and distance of an object; the sounds that the cane makes on different surfaces, for example, can supply an enormous amount of extra detail. Using a cane therefore increases blind people’s ability to go about freely, confidently and independently.

Sponsor

Informed of the Special Audiences Department’s desire to develop its work in this direction, Ingrid Felber-Bischof, the UBS Braille Coordinator based in Stuttgart, Germany, found a sponsor willing to give US$1,000 towards it. Then Dr P I Varghese who heads the Special Audiences Department, started looking for a local manufacturer who could make folding canes to the desired specification and budget. At last, 500 canes bearing the Bible Society logo were despatched to different places for distribution.

Not long before Christmas – appropriately – some ceremonies took place at which canes were given to users; on December 8, 2004, at the Co-operative Conference Hall, Aizawl, folding canes were distributed to more than 50 visually-impaired people, many of them children. As an expression of their gratitude, they in return performed a program of special songs.

In Gujarat some members of the BSI Gujarat Auxiliary Women’s Work Council visited a hostel run by the Salvation Army for the blind and visually impaired. The leader of the women’s group shared a brief message about the meaning of Christmas, the women also sang some carols and then the canes, sent from Bangalore, were distributed, together with some clothes and sweets.

Weighing scales

This year, in addition to giving away 2,500 more canes, the Society is hoping to distribute some portable weighing scales; in railway stations, bus stations and shopping areas it is quite common to see blind people sitting tending a weighing machine; passers-by are quite happy to hand over a few rupees in return for finding out how much they weigh.

The work described in this article is organised in co-operation with the department headed by the United Bible Societies’ Coordinator of Scriptures for the Visually Impaired, Ingrid Felber-Bischof, who is based in Stuttgart, and the distribution is undertaken by Christian ministries for the blind and Bible Society Auxiliaries in the different Indian states. (WR 393/9 - 06.05)