Persons who are visually impaired are now better able to use the computer and keep abreast with technology with the introduction of software that provides step-by-step instructions for such use.
The software is called Job Access with Speech (JAWS) Screen Reader and it identifies and interprets what is being displayed on the computer screen with a text-to-speech output. JAWS allows persons who are blind to use the computer and programmes such as Microsoft Word, Power Point, email and even access social network sites like Facebook among others.
The Guyana Society for the Blind (GSB), which provides training for persons who are visually impaired, is one of the organisations using the software. A representative from the society, Ganesh Singh, told Stabroek News in an interview on Friday, that the GSB started to use the software in 2008 but in 2011 the number of persons who had access to JAWS increased.
Singh said the society has been providing training programmes for a number of people on the use of the software, since it is a means of bridging the communication gap that exists with blind persons. Singh stated that “prior to the software, accessing a newspaper or information was nonexistent because very few persons knew how to use Braille, but with this now it’s very easy to send and receive an email [or] go online…”
Singh also mentioned that he is currently a student of the University of Guyana and the software allows him to do his work. He said he does everything from his computer with JAWS including his exams and assignments.
The GSB can now offer classes for visually impaired students who are preparing to write the Caribbean Secon-dary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams as a result of access to the JAWS computer software, computers donated by the One Laptop per Family project and internet access provided by the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph company.
The Ministry of Education currently funds the cost of hiring the tutors to teach these students. Access to these services is not only available to those who are blind but to persons with disabilities as well, Singh added.
This training is done free of cost so persons can visit the society to access such services.
President of the society, Cecil Morris, said that over the years that they have changed their focus from their initial mandate of learning hand crafts to training others who suffered from blindness in programmes including art and craft, steel pan, cane training and the CSEC classes. He stated that the society is now making the impact to assist blind persons to become independent and take their place in society.
The society is also broadening its reach to persons in Berbice and Linden and students in these areas can expect to benefit soon from CSEC classes as well. Singh said the society was in the process of teaching CSEC students online through a conference facility in a classroom setting. He noted once the online programme is up and running it would be accessed “from anywhere in the world if they want to. I am in negotiations with some funders to fund those students’ internet cost. I can’t say how long but I am hoping that it will take less than a month.”
Morris also expressed interest in providing assistance for the re-establishing of a branch of the society in New Amsterdam to assist the visually impaired in that area.
Singh also added that despite the technological innovations that assists in making life easier for the blind there is still the challenge of discrimination against persons who are blind. He told Stabroek News, “They have this general yardstick that they use to measure all blind persons. Most of the persons that they see are old persons and they have acquired their blindness and think that they can’t do anything and that is not so …blind persons in general are capable of doing anything.”
Singh said the aim of the GSB is to change the way society look at persons with disabilities. “The more persons we empower, the better for us.”
Singh however noted that “we are not trained counsellors [but] we try to do an efficient job in counselling and trying to rehabilitate blind persons who recently acquired their blindness. But other than that, persons just come and socialise at the society.”
