The Guyana Society for the Blind (GSB) is appealing for supplies, including food, cleaning products and face masks, for distribution to the blind and other persons with disabilities who are in need of help during the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Hazel Morris, a board member at the GSB, told Stabroek News that supplies that were previously sourced were all exhausted after being distributed to those who sought help from the organisation.
She said the aim is to reach persons who are blind or have disabilities in various locations, like the East Bank of Demerara, the East Coast of Demerara, and Georgetown.
Morris also said that in April, the Ministry of Public Health’s sanitation department visited and sanitised the GSB’s offices.
Despite the Society playing its part in ensuring the facility is clean, Morris noted that the buildings are in need of sanitising again, while adding that garbage collection is an issue. Since March, the garbage has not been picked up, she said, despite efforts made to contact the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) which previously went unanswered.
It was noted that Puran Brothers Disposal Inc was previously responsible for weekly garbage collection from the offices but since the pandemic, no has one visited to collect garbage, which has accumulated in a skip along the driveway.
However, this newspaper was told that the City Council is expected to conduct a clean-up exercise next week.
Flooding
The President of the Society, Cecil Morris, added the organisation is in need of “everything you can think of. Times are hard.”
In an appeal for help, Morris noted that their offices have been flooding whenever there is a heavy downpour due to the facilities and the road being at the same level.
On Monday when this newspaper visited the organisation, the buildings were waterlogged.
Cecil Morris disclosed that a contractor was called in to see what could be done “because it getting real overbearing, [you] got to bail out the water every time.” He said, “The contractor came and made a few suggestions, and to tell you the honest truth, them suggestions that he was making, we really can’t afford it.”
He noted that his plan is to ask around for help, “because they are talking about raising the flooring like five inches, it’s not easy work, because we have to do the door, the sewage, everything.”
Cecil Morris stated that government officials usually give the Society a $250,000 subvention annually, but it is usually not enough for its needs.
Meanwhile, he also noted that due to the pandemic, the Society has limited the opening of its offices to the public, and is now operating on only three days per week.
The effects of the pandemic have placed a halt on some programmes run by the Society but it is adapting. He said they usually have Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) classes. They have been holding the CXC classes via Skype. The Society also conducts a computer training programme and mobility training.
When asked how Society members were affected by the pandemic, Hazel Morris said “it is not easy as a blind person.”
She noted that trying to isolate yourself from others may not be so easy when you need to go out and get things done, because when you move around, people have to guide you and come to your assistance. “They grab your hand and it is not nice to pull away your hands, [there’s] not a lot you can do as a blind person. You always need assistance. Even though a blind person is not solely dependent but sometimes you need help,” she added.
Hazel said to occupy herself during this current period, she utilizes her cellphone and tablet, which she uses to listen to gospel music and movies, which she called “things to get me thinking in a positive way.”
For the other members of the society, it was noted that they too are occupying their time in a similar way.
Prior to the pandemic, the Society was considered an active hub for members.
Currently they are eight persons who permanently reside at the organisation’s headquarters, which also accommodates persons from out of town when needed. (Readawne Henery)
