Wowed by the World Cup

South Africa’s been abuzz with 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ fever and everyone wanted to be able to look back and say, “I was there”. But for visually impaired people, it wasn’t so easy. That is, until 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ teamed up with the Swiss National Association for the Blind and Council to provide an Audio Description Project (ADP) at six of the World Cup stadiums.

2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ offered 30 special tickets to visually impaired soccer spectators and their sighted guides at 44 matches at stadiums in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. People in these seats could listen to an exciting audio description of the match on earphones, given by trained journalists.

It was a first for South African sport stadiums and we hope other tournaments will keep the legacy alive, by offering a similar service to visually impaired sports fans.

We also have the right to read

In developed countries, barely 5% of all published works are available in formats that are accessible to visually impaired people - such as large print, audio, braille or DAISY.

In developing countries, it gets even worse, dropping to a mere 0.5%.
This estimation, made by the World Blind Union (WBU), drew attention to the current literacy crisis which was subsequently named the Book Famine.
With 314 million visually impaired and print disabled readers around the world, this lack of access to information is simply unacceptable.

The South African Copyright Act, which dates back to 1978, blocks a huge amount of information and prevents blind people from benefiting from the information age.

But things are changing. Blind people are negotiating a treaty to change international copyright laws so that accessible books can be shared across borders by blindness organisations. That’ll make many more titles available to visually impaired and reading disabled readers.

Council also hosted a workshop on 20 May to obtain a mandate to negotiate with government on the South African stance on the proposed International Treaty on Copyright Limitations and Exceptions for Blind, Visually Impaired and Other Reading Disabled Persons (TVI).

The TVI’s aim is to create a global standard for limitations and exceptions to copyright so that accessible formats can cross borders more easily.

For more information, go to www.sancb.org.za and click on the TVI button. You can also read more at the World Blind Union’s Right to Read Campaign website (www.worldblindunion.org) and the Daisy International website (www.daisy.org).

It’s raining gifts

Mavis Mogorosi is studying computer literacy at Optima. She’s been overjoyed by all the aids we've been able to give her with the support of our donors: a Perkins brailler and paper, a white cane, a talking watch and an audio Bible. Thank you!

Getting out and about – so others can too!

Our Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) workers have certainly been busy – getting out and about and empowering visually impaired people in the comfort of their own homes.

Thanks to the wonderful support of friends like you, CBR is proving to be an amazing concept. The power of basic devices like liquid level indicators (which are used for cooking or just making a nice, hot cup of tea), and the money template (which is used to identify bank notes), should never be underestimated.

Neither should white canes, mobility skills and protective techniques, which all help conquer the anguish many visually impaired people feel when they have to venture outdoors.

Berenjie Nodakile Masilela, from Belfast, lost her sight at the age of five after she contracted measles. Berenjie is an incredibly independent person, managing to raise five boys with her husband and run her own household. And while she is very social and loves visiting her neighbours, Berenjie was fearful of going out on her own.

Thanks to a CBR worker, that’s all in the past. Berenjie can now negotiate the route to her neighbour’s house on her own, by identifying clues and landmarks.

An easy peasy way to give

A huge thank you to all our supporters who remember to swipe their My School or My Village cards - the income we receive from your swipes pays for one Perkins brailler for a visually impaired person each month!

Council has almost 650 active My School or My Village cardholders who use their cards about four times a month. That’s about 3000 swipes a month! But if you hold one of the 9748 cards not being used, please start swiping right away! If every cardholder swiped their card at a participating store just once a month, we’d be able to subsidise far more assistive devices. And it doesn’t cost you a cent!

If you don't have a My Village card, apply online at www.myschool.co.za or call Francesca on 012 452 3811. Don’t forget to nominate the South African
National Council for the Blind as one of your beneficiaries.

Toys that bring more than joy!

You may remember eight-year old Collette Roos, who was born without sight. The kindness of friends like you meant that we could give Collette educational toys like the Leap  Frog, which sings and is perfectly suited to children who can’t see.

We’re thrilled to report that the toys our Resource Centre supplies – along with the love and attention she gets from her visually impaired stay-at-home mom – have seen Collette flourish!

Collette is now in Grade 4 and she's a top performer, having achieved an average of more than 80% during her first school term this year. She’s also an avid piano player, and last month came ‘top of the pops’ out of four entrants from her school in The Academy for Contemporary, Jazz & Gospel Music of South Africa exams.

‘Thank you’, says James

“Hi Madam Irene Preston (A Call Centre Facilitator at Optima)
I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you very much for playing a crucial role in my miserable life, which was about to be destroyed. I have been reflecting on the past lately and I remembered your encouragement and the hope you put in me. You really believed in me. That made me what I am today.
I remembered that time when you told us that one day we were going to be in a workplace. I took it for granted that you were just trying to make us feel better but what you said manifested in my life later on. I thank God for making me meet someone like you. On 1 April, SITA appointed me permanently. I never thought that one day I would work for such a big company, but you knew it. I will pass by one day to see you. Thanks once again, this is a mission accomplished!

Council has been fortunate to receive funding for a number of its projects from the Murray and Roberts Letsema Sizwe Community Trust. One portion of funding has been assigned by the Donor to a project funding a 50% subsidisation of assistive devices, for the benefit of financially disadvantaged visually impaired individuals.  

1. The Following Articles are Available though this Subsidy Project:

1. Folding mobility canes;
2. Talking watches (only the TIT 11);
3. Liquid level indicators;
4. Money templates;
5. Magnifiers;
6. Perkins braillers;
7. Slates and styluses; 
8. Packs of braille paper.      

2. Please Note the Following:

1. that applicants need to qualify and they will be supplied with devices on a first-come-first-served basis; 
2. that not all items will necessarily be supplied;
3. that the following details must be supplied before a person will be considered to receive a subsidy:
4. A copy of the applicant’s South African identity document;
5. Current address of the individual;
6. Employment details of the individual;
7. Income of the individual;
8.   A contactable telephone number. 
9. that the current rule of ‘one subsidised brailler per individual in a five year cycle’ will still apply. If the applicant has received a subsidised brailler from Council in the past four years, he/she will not receive a subsidised brailler under this funding;
10. the successful applicant will have to pay his/her 50% of the total cost of the article(s) up front, as well as the postage, before any item will be dispatched. 

Send your applications for this equipment to Adam Ely on adam@sancb.org.za together with all relevant details and documentation.

O&M Association of South Africa

The Orientation & Mobility (O&M) Association of South Africa’s Steering Committee decided that:

• Applications for Membership will only be accepted until the close of business on the 30th July;
• They are hosting the OMASA Foundation Meeting and Conference on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 September, and for delegates to attend the week-end, the conference fees will amount to R500 for paid-up members and R800 for non–members. Limited, excellent quality accommodation is available at R350 per day on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis to paid-up members first.

 For more information, contact the Steering Committee:

• Chairman: Ken Lord ken@guidedog.org.za;
• Secretary: Ncumisa Ndzungu-Msengi Ncumisa@sancb.org.za;
• Treasurer: Elza Veldsman veldsmanh@yahoo.com;
• Co-opted Member: Moira Higgerty

  ---

Building an independent life

When Elizabeth started making basic mistakes at the restaurant she was running in Cape Town, she said “I thought I was being stupid”. At the end of every day, she had the same problem – her till wouldn’t balance. Finally, Elizabeth couldn’t look her employer in the eye anymore, and she resigned.

A few months later, things had got even worse. Elizabeth started tripping when the ground was uneven. Doctors realised she had uncontrolled high blood pressure, which was causing retinal haemorrhages. Despite treatment, the doctors were unable to stop it and Elizabeth lost her sight completely. That was seven years ago.

For a while back then, Elizabeth floundered in her strange new world. She was fortunate to receive computer, rehabilitation and independence training. After her studies, Elizabeth started up her own business. Even though she was earning a decent living, she realised she had a deeper calling – she wanted to teach other visually impaired people the life-changing skills she had acquired. Not one to turn her back on a challenge, Elizabeth started up a new organisation in Cape Town – and now she’s teaching blind people skills in their own communities.

Although she is already braille literate, she’s now studying at Optima, having signed up to learn the internationally used English version braille as well as Afrikaans braille. Now, Elizabeth can teach her students this great skill too, which opens the door to freedom and independence. “If a person loses their confidence….it takes a hell of a lot to build up that confidence again,” she says.

Thanks to the unwavering support of Illuminé members, Optima is ready and willing to do just that.

Thank you for the role you’ve played in bringing skills – and with it confidence and pride – into the lives of visually impaired students like Elizabeth.

Made possible by a guide dog

Sometimes, all it takes for a prayer to be answered is to whisper the right words into the right ear. That’s what happened recently at a braai in Pretoria, which was attended by one of our training facilitators, David Roderiques, and his visually impaired wife Deidre.  The pair were chatting to Mr. Kinsman, who raised Deidre’s guide dog, Allie, until she was big enough to start her official guide dog training.

David happened to mention that Optima had a terrible shortage of headphones and USB storage devices. The USB devices are used to store learners’ study material as well as a copy of screen reading software developed for blind computer users. Learners take the device home after their course to enable them to access computers so they can secure jobs or further their studies.

The headsets are used in the classrooms. As the students each have a talking computer, they can’t use speakers or they would never be able to concentrate on their own work.

A day after the braai, David was delighted to receive a call confirming the sponsorship of 60 USB storage devices and 60 headphones from Justin Robbins, from Softline ACCPAC. Mr. Kinsman had asked Justin for assistance and he had responded immediately with this generous donation. 

The gift will make the world of difference for our students – thank you! It just goes to show, generous donors – and a guide dog – are truly a man’s best friends!

Reading without sight

A hereditary eye condition that had affected her father, grandfather, and some of her siblings did not skip 27-year-old Hlobisile Prudence Sithole. Even though this family from Ladysmith, in  KwaZulu-Natal, had such a long history of visual impairments, her family didn’t know very much about the rehabilitation and empowerment of blind people.

Prudence was sent to a mainstream school and when her sight deteriorated to the point that she couldn’t read or write, she left school. Prudence stayed at home for the next five years, cleaning and cooking for the family. No one in the family knew that Prudence had many other options, until she talked to her pastor and social worker.

They introduced her to one of our member organisations, where Prudence volunteered to teach visually impaired people the skills of daily living. Prudence realised that there are many employment and training options open to blind people like her.

She was ready to take full advantage! After doing computer and contact centre training, Prudence finished matric through a correspondence course.Then she took the brave step of leaving her toddler in the care of her father, and journeyed to Optima College in Pretoria to learn to read and write in braille.

Prudence says: “I am so happy to do this course, because I was worried about not being able to read and write. It means a lot to me and I am enjoying it. Now I can also read magazines again.”

Thank you for opening the wonderful world of books and literature to visually impaired people!

Special skills for special people

Not a week goes by without a news story about the skills shortage facing South Africa. Thanks to the support of our Illuminé friends, Council is doing our utmost to assist visually impaired students to become skilled members of society. Three visually impaired students recently received bursaries from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, which they each used to purchase a Dolphin pen, a computer and a printer to further their studies.

Therelca Bold, a partially sighted mother of two daughters, is a second-year student at UNISA, while Nosiphiwe Sodlaka and Luthando Toyi are blind, first-year students at the Tshwane University of  technology.

Albert Peters and Adam Ely from Council’s Resource Centre recently installed the equipment and trained the three students. Therelca uses the software on the Dolphin Pen to magnify the text on the screen so she can read it, while Nosiphiwe and Luthando use the same software to read out the text on the screen.

Thank you for enabling these deserving students to acquire skills – and for making South Africa a better place for us all!

South Africa in support of the WIPO TVI

Preventing Copyright laws from prohibiting access to information

In developed countries, barely 5% of all published works are available in formats which are accessible to blind people (large print, audio, braille or DAISY) – in developing countries, this number drops to a mere 0.5%. This estimation made by the World Blind Union (WBU) is the root of the current literary crisis known as the Book Famine!

With 314 million visually impaired and other print disabled readers around the world, this lack of access to information is simply unacceptable. So what is being done about this?

What is the TVI?

The TVI is the ‘Treaty for Improved Access for Blind, Visually Impaired and other Reading Disabled Persons’ and its aim is to create a global standard for limitations and exceptions to Copyright in order to allow for cross-border exchange of accessible formats and equitable access to knowledge for millions of visually impaired people around the world.

In brief, the TVI would create a global standard for limitations and exceptions to copyright that would address the following:

o  Allow for the production and distribution of copyrighted works in formats that are accessible to persons who are visually impaired or have other reading disabilities;

o  Ensure that works published under these limitations and exceptions could be legally exported and imported across national borders to facilitate access and resource-sharing;

o  Provide legal norms to ensure that digital technologies can be used to greatly expand the number of accessible works;

o Ensure rights for non-profit organisations to create and distribute accessible formats without having to obtain permission from copyright owners;

o Provide for-profit companies with opportunities to use an exception, but only when an accessible format is not available in an identical or equivalent format from the copyright owner, and when the for-profit entity provides notice and remuneration to the copyright owner.

What has happened so far?

On 30 November 2009, the South African National Council for the Blind hosted a workshop on the TVI (as proposed by Brazil, Ecuador and Paraguay). Delegates represented various organisations servicing the visually impaired communities of South Africa, as well as stakeholders from the private and public sectors, including government departments and academia. The TVI was adopted by all representatives and supporters of the visually impaired communities who were present, and so, the TVI was tabled at the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s (WIPO) Standing Committee for Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) meeting on 14 December 2009 in Geneva, Switzerland.

A conclusion made at this 19th Session of the SCCR in summary, stated that the Committee accepted that a work program should be established on Copyright Exceptions and Limitations for the benefit of persons with print disabilities and the item will be maintained on the agenda of the next session of the SCCR in June 2010.

The way forward

The workshop on 20 May to which you are invited, aims to develop a South African position in terms of the treaty, by asking for input from experts in their various fields – to present to the SCCR in June.

Mobile Phaco machines donated to the Bureau

Vodacom has generously donated two Alcon Laureate Phaco Machines to Council’s Bureau for the Prevention of Blindness. A phaco machine is a surgical instrument designed to remove a cataract from a patient’s eye. Ophthalmologists are trained to do this kind of cataract operation which takes less time, has a higher success rate and is more efficient than the conventional method.

The benefits of phaco surgery are internationally recognised and include:

• Operation of an early cataract is possible
• No hospitalisation is needed
• A smaller incision is needed
• Lesser induced astigmatism occur because of the smaller incision
• The patient has no restriction on normal activities 
• Fast recovery of good vision - in a matter of days.

Vodacom has been very generous to support Council by donating these two phaco machines, which will enable us to move in line with international trends by performing more and more phaco procedures and therefore enabling us to do many more operations than previously possible. This will go a long way in the fight against preventable blindness.

Your help in delivering miracles

Council’s Eye Care Services Division, the Bureau for the Prevention of Blindness, conducted various cataract blitzes during last year’s Eye Care Awareness Month (ECAM) campaign. ECAM is held annually in October in order to raise awareness about the importance of eye health and specifically around the prevention and treatment of avoidable blindness.

The Bureau, who was aiming to perform 600 operations during ECAM 2009, far surpassed its target:
• Limpopo Province – 228 operations
• Eastern Cape Province – 63 operations
• Free State Province – 127 operations
• Mpumalanga Province – 175 operations
• North West Province – 309 operations

With your kind and loyal support we were able to make a huge difference in the lives of 902 people, their families and the communities they belong to by giving them back the amazing gift of sight.

Meet our new National Executive Director

Meet Jace Nair – newly appointed National Executive Director of the South African National Council for the Blind. From humble beginnings as a switchboard operator 30 years ago, this inspirational man has made his way up the corporate ladder through hard work and perseverance in order to bring about positive change within the visually and hearing impaired communities.
 
Lying in a hospital bed at the age of 14, Jace had convinced himself that his life was meaningless after he lost his sight overnight while being treated for measles. However, two patients he would meet at the King Edward VIII Hospital in Durban would change his perception of blindness.

A blind boy, no more than eight years of age, took it upon himself to help the nurses by bringing Jace his medication and water. Another young patient was a scholar at the Arthur Blaxall School for the Blind. These two boys brought Jace to the realisation that blind people were not only still capable of carrying out daily tasks, but that blind people could also still receive an education – something that Jace wanted dearly.

In 1982 Jace started as a volunteer switchboard operator at the Aryan Benevolent Home (ABH) – a NGO in Chatsworth, and was soon employed full-time, after proving his competence. Seizing an opportunity to help the organisation he was working at, Jace decided to sell fundraising tickets over the phone – his own initiative which led to his promotion to the position of National Public Fundraising Manager within the organisation. When he left the organisation in 2000, his original fundraising project was bringing in almost R700 000 in cash donations on its own.

After joining one of Council’s member organisations, the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Blind and Deaf Society in 2000 as the organisation’s Chief Executive Officer, Jace supervised the setting up of the KZN Optima College in 2004, helped set up the KZN Community Based initiative in 2005, and implemented the opening of the Victor Daitz Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) Centre in 2007.
 
After almost nine productive years as their CEO, Jace took the next step in his journey, occupying his new post as Council’s National Executive Director from September 2009. Jace says: “The important thing is that we want to give people hope, we want them to know that there are opportunities, and we need to find ways of creating access for them, so that they can live an integrated, or inclusive life in their communities.”

Join Inclusive Planet

Inclusiveplanet.com is an online platform that enables persons with visual impairments to connect with each other, share accessible content and build conversations and communities around these shared experiences.

In short, the problem of lack of accessible content is being solved by the community themselves by sharing files, making new friends and participating in conversations. Some of the channels started by users include English literature, computer science, social science, accessible sheet music and much more. Over 2200 members from 76 different countries have come together to attempt to make this an inclusive planet

To know more or to join, visit www.inclusiveplanet.com

• If one of your new year’s resolutions is to loose weight, you will need the talking kitchen scale at R345 to weigh your food portions!
• If you decided that 2010 is the year to get organised, you may need the Braille Dymo Writer at R310.
• The Olympus VN-6000 is back in stock! With 39 hours recording time it is a bargain at only R995.
• One used 1983 Afrikaans Bible on Tape is available from the Resource Centre, free of charge - first come first served.

 The Resource Centre can order this exciting product for you on request:

• RNIB PenFriend Audio Labeller

You can easily record information using this pocket-sized, easy-to-use product. Self-adhesive labels instantly play back recordings through the PenFriend - no computer required. It can also be used as a portable note taker or a MP3 player.

Use it to label medicine, food items (including freezer items), film and music collections, household objects or even to organise letters and other paperwork as well as record shopping lists or leave audio messages. PenFriend is very affordable in comparison to other labeller models.

For orders or enquiries on the range of assistive devices and technologies for visually impaired persons, contact Martie at Council’s Resource Centre: resource@sancb.org.za / 012 452-3811.

Discussion around Secret Vote in Elections

A meeting was held between senior officials from the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), the Council Task Team on Voting by the Blind, representatives from BlindSA and staff members of Council. The meeting was requested by the Research and Knowledge Management Division of the IEC to discuss the 2011 elections and their plans in relation to civic voter education.  
 
An opportunity was provided for discussion on how to improve the braille booklet prepared for the 2009 general election which had not been satisfactory. The IEC noted this and undertook to apply an open tender process going forward and to contract a recognised braille producer. The IEC also noted that the needs of blind non-braille literate voters had to be considered and that plans were underway to produce an audio version on the booklet, in all languages.  
 
The IEC asked the Council task team to make an input into the civic voter education initiative to support successful roll out. The IEC expressed concerns about having the template ready for the 2011 elections because of the many different ballot papers and increase in the number of wards. Hazel Marshall, Council’s Honorary Vice-President, said that, provided a standard layout and font was used on ballot papers, there could be a workable solution and she undertook to provide the IEC with a proposal for consideration by their technical team.  In closing, Jace Nair thanked the IEC for their continued support of the sector.

Passing on the literacy torch

It is statistically proven that visually impaired people who are braille literate stand a better chance of finding a job. Braille literacy empowers people by providing the independence they need to support themselves and contribute to their community!

Optima College offers its visually impaired students a course in Braille literacy to instil a sense of empowerment in each of their lives. Itumeleng Molete is one such student. The Braille literacy course has given him a new sense of empowerment and a renewed sense of purpose. Itumeleng, who is slowly losing his sight due to macular degeneration, was a passionate maths and science teacher within a sighted high school. After losing a large part of his central vision, he was forced to leave teaching, forever. Or so he thought.

“The best thing about taking this course is knowing that I’ll be going back to the classroom and to the children – that’s very important to me.” After finishing the Braille literacy course, Itumeleng will be going back to teaching, this time within the Special school environment. After learning how to read and write in braille, Itumeleng can pass on the torch to his students, and use his new skill as a tool to educate learners in other important subjects.

Braille literacy for this teacher will become a gift, a torch that is passed on to many visually impaired school goers. Optima couldn’t have provided Itumeleng’s training without the support of friends like you, so thank you!

Natie’s paving the road to success

Do you remember Natie Ferreira, the partially sighted student who was determined to uplift his community after completing a Computer Literacy course at Optima?

Well, Natie is still working hard on developing material for an entrepreneurial course aimed at empowering visually impaired people in rural KwaZulu Natal. However, with the current financial environment being as tough as it is, Natie has decided to put one of his many talents to use in order to keep food on his young family’s table, while developing the course material. Natie has been selling the goat’s milk products he so skilfully produces and has been struggling to keep up with the demand for his drinking yogurt and cream cheese products!

But in keeping up with his notion of community upliftment, Natie has been in negotiation with government over its ‘Land Reform Programme’. Natie wants to run a mentorship programme for the recipients of farming land, where he would train the new farmers in goat farming to ensure that the redistributed farmland is used optimally to produce food for the community and for the country.

Natie’s business-savvy nature has necessitated computer literacy for the planning and documenting of his projects. Thanks to the support of friends like you, Optima was able to guide this budding entrepreneur on his road to success!

Optima helps Lazarus reach end goal

This time last year, thirteen of Council’s Optima students began an internship at the Pretoria Post Office. We caught up with one of the lucky thirteen, Lazarus Muthimba – a partially sighted father of four who completed courses in Computer Literacy and Call Centre Training at Optima College.

We were pleasantly surprised – Lazarus is now a full-time employee in Eskom’s Contact Centre as a Call Centre Agent!  “I wouldn’t have been able to secure the Eskom job if I hadn’t worked at the Post Office, but my training at Optima has, in my opinion, been the biggest stepping stone for me – it gave me computer literacy – which is the base knowledge needed to become a Call Centre Agent.”

Thanks to the generous support of friends like you, Optima has been able to serve as the stepping stone for many students just like Lazarus – so thank you! With your support, Optima will continue to steer students in the right direction!

Imfama now available in DAISY format

The second edition of Imfama for 2009 will be distributed within the next month. This highly respected magazine/journal is produced by Council three times a year and is available in the following formats: 

• Full colour print
• Braille
• Electronically
• Audio (on tape) – converted by Tape Aids for the Blind
• DAISY format – converted by SA Library for the Blind

Should you wish to receive this free publication, please write to Stacey at Council: stacey@sancb.org.za and state clearly which format you request and the appropriate address for delivery (postal address for print, braille, tape and Daisy and email address for electronic format). Please note, that to receive audio or DAISY format, the subscriber would need to register as a member of Tape Aids for the Blind or the SA Library for the Blind, respectively.

The secret to happiness

It seems the secret to happiness lies in giving! New research has found that people who spend their money on gifts for others or on donations to charity are much more content than those who squander their money on themselves. 

Researchers at the University of British Columbia in Canada gave students envelopes containing either a $5 bill or a $20 bill. They found that those who donated the money to charity or used it to buy a gift for someone else were happier at the end of the day than those who used it to pay a bill or indulge in a treat for themselves.

Two other surveys had similar results, which leads researchers to conclude that the effect of altruistic spending is probably similar to the effects of exercise – including reduced anxiety, depression and stress, along with positive effects on mood and self esteem.

Researchers also believe that while giving once might make a person happy for a day, it could make a lasting difference if it became a way of life. Let’s spread the word that giving is the path to happiness!

Source:Elsa Youngsteadt, ScienceNOW (March 2008).

Blinding facts

• 80% of the world’s 45 million blind people are over 50 years of age.
• Our chances of developing cataract, refractive error, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma increase as we age.
• Cataract remains the leading cause of blindness in older people – yet it can be cured with a simple, cost-effective operation. Council, in line with VISION 2020 goals, seeks to make this ‘gift’ available to all who need it.
• Glaucoma has blinded 4.5 million people worldwide.
• 8 million people worldwide are functionally blind due to uncorrected refractive errors. Yet a simple eye test and glasses could restore sight to most of these people.
  
  Source:Vision 2020 Website