THE BLIND

The Blind Date Minicompany

The blind and visually-impaired in Budapest

Index

1. Definitions, numbers2. Reasons for losing one's eyesight3. Treatment4. Problems / Challenges5. Entertainment6. See! Association7. Tandem Budapest Foundation

8. The School of the Blind Foundation9. The Hungarian Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted10. The Light Foundation

Blind

Let’s start with some definitions and numbers. Blindness means the inability to see because of an injury or disease. About 33,000 blind people live in Hungary.

the inability to see because of an injury or disease

33,000 blind people

Visually-impaired

Visual impairment means low vision, or a reduction in vision which cannot be corrected with glasses or contact lenses. In Hungary around 218,000 people are visually impaired.

VS

low vision, or a reduction in vision which cannot be corrected with glasses or contact lenses

218,000 visually -impaired people

30 million blind or visually-impaired in Europe1.3 billion blind or visually-impaired in the world

It is estimated that 30 million blind and visually impaired people live in Europe. Do you know how many people live in the world? Yes, 7 billion people. Globally, it is estimated that approximately 1.3 billion people, so every 7th person lives with some form of vision impairment (near-sightedness, far-sightedness, ageing eyes, etc.), so this is a serious global issue, not only a local or Hungarian problem.

diabetes, stroke, too much strain on eye, lack of medicine, ageing

rehabilitation, operation, development at an early age, training, education, white cane and other equipment, magnifying glasses

NUMBERS

REASONS

TREATMENT

With the help of these treatments they can live an independent life and even get a job as a call center worker, musician, music teacher, artist.

TRAVELLING

The blind can navigate independently with the white cane. This white walking stick with a red tip is an internationally recognized aid. It is the most common tool used to improve mobility. GPS devices, tactile paving and audible traffic signals can also make it easier and safer to cross the street. There are a number of Budapest roads and intersections with a traffic control lamp that give you an acoustic signal when you can get on the road. Some specially equipped guide dogs are also used. Guide dogs point to different street obstacles and help the blind navigate, for example, they indicate stairs, curbs, or obstacles. The blind and their guide dogs can travel free of charge and without a muzzle on the means of public transportation in Budapest. Unfortunately, only every tenth person can have a dog. The reason for this is that training a dog like that costs 2 million forints. So only 25 dogs are trained per year.

SHOPPING

Using money might make it difficult to buy a product. In the bottom left corner of the latest Hungarian banknotes, there is a special blind sign so that the value can be determined by touch. In some currencies, such as the euro, the size of a note increases with its value.

HOUSEWORK

The blind might use talking devices at home, such as talking thermometers, watches, clocks, scales, calculators, and compasses.

PROBLEMS / CHALLENGES FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED

In Budapest dozens of organisations, foundations, associations, NGOs work for the blind or visually-impaired people and help them with their everyday life because they meet a lot of challenges and need help.

Reading, sport

Besides the problems, however, they can of course have fun, too. We are going to talk about reading books and doing sports. Most visually impaired people can read print enlarged by magnifying glasses. The blind read the Braille signs which was invented by Loius Braille in 1824. Or they can rely on talking books, E-book readers, special mobile applications and screen readers. For instance the Microsoft Narrator or Google TalkBack. The blind and visually impaired can participate in many sports, however, they like different sports in every single country. In Budapest they like blind football, running, cycling, chess, skiing for instance. There are many associations which organise sports programmes for them. We are going to introduce two.

Besides the problems, however, they can of course have fun, too. We are going to talk about reading books and doing sports. Most visually impaired people can read print enlarged by magnifying glasses. The blind read the Braille signs which was invented by Loius Braille in 1824. Or they can rely on talking books, E-book readers, special mobile applications and screen readers. For instance the Microsoft Narrator or Google TalkBack.

The blind and visually impaired can participate in many sports, however, they like different sports in every single country. In Budapest they like blind football, running, cycling, chess, skiing for instance. There are many associations which organise sports programmes for them. We are going to introduce two.

Santa Clause running races

The See! Association

The See! association works with 30-40 volunteers who help them organise Santa Clause running races. It is a race where anybody can experience running with the blind wearing Santa Claus costumes. The entrance fees are spent on sports programmes for the blind. For example skiing camps for the blind or football trainings for the visually impaired. I am a footballer so, for me the most interesting sport is blind football. It is played by 5 visually impaired athletes using a ball with a noise-making device inside. It is played on a smaller pitch. Matches are played over two halves of 25 minutes. The players are visually impaired and wear eyeshades to ensure fairness. The goalkeeper may be fully or partially sighted.

Tandem Budapest Foundation

The second organisation which helps the inclusion of the blind is the Tandem Budapest Foundation. It is a small group which has been organizing tandem cycling programmes for the past 13 years. The blind and partially sighted are regularly active participants of these programs. The The basis of these non-profit actions are lots of volunteer work and donations from supporters.

The School of the Blind

The third organisation we’d like to introduce is The School of the Blind. In Hungary there is no inclusive education for the blind. The school of the blind has worked in Hungary since 1825. Only blind students attend this school. It has a dormitory, so the students do not have to commute to school every day. The classes consist of 5-5 blind people. They learn for example PE, maths, IT, swimming, music, arts and crafts. Besides these subjects they learn how to lay the table and do the washing up. They have a music room, a swimming pool and a kitchen. They have their own student government, too.

The Hungarian Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted

We are going to continue with the Hungarian Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted. This Federation is the oldest organisation in Hungary. It was formed in 1901, for the poor and low-educated blind people and after the tragedy of World War I the organisation included more educated, more intelligent blind people too. Today they are the most popular organisation which helps the blind. They offer a great deal of services: -They provide the blind with guide dogs. There are 2 types of dogs: Labradors and golden retrievers. Anyone can apply for the puppy training program which takes about 6 months. -They have an aid shop where the blind can buy the necessary tools and devices. -They have a Braille-press office where Braille books are printed. -They also have a library where the blind can borrow braille books, audiobooks, newspapers, music notes, course books. -Most importantly, they offer a legal support service and help the blind with financial administration, too.

Courses

They organise educational courses and cultural programmes for them, such as joga, aerobics, dancing or foreign language courses.

Yoga courseAerobicsMake up courseForeign language courseDancing course

Services

In addition, they provide the blind with legal and financial advice. Most importantly, they organise free medical examinations for them, and buy the necessary equipment for them too.

AdministrationFinancial issuesLegal adviceScreening examinations

Volunteers

The organisation needs volunteers who read out for the blind or walk with them, help them while doing sports, accompany them to the shops, banks, help with administrative issues. Of course you can help them with donations, too.

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The Light Foundation

The last organisation we’d like to talk about is The Light Foundation. This NGO has been helping the blind and visually impaired since 2002.

Thank you!