Annually, from October 15 to November 15, the Lepel district hosts the "Person with a White Cane" month-long campaign. This initiative aims to draw the attention of the general public and local executive authorities to the need to address the social issues faced by visually impaired individuals, protect their rights and interests, and improve the quality of life for blind and partially sighted people.
Annually, from October 15 to November 15, the Lepel district hosts the "Person with a White Cane" month-long campaign. This initiative aims to draw the attention of the general public and local executive authorities to the need to address the social issues faced by visually impaired individuals, protect their rights and interests, and improve the quality of life for blind and partially sighted people.
We learned the details from Olga Martynovich, a representative of the Vitebsk regional organization of the Public Association "BelTIZ" in the Lepel district.
— This year, the month-long campaign in the Lepel region was held as part of the "Safety School" project. Therefore, the main theme of the campaign became the accessibility and safety of the urban environment for visually impaired people.
As part of the campaign, a monitoring was conducted to assess the availability of an accessible environment in the residential areas of visually impaired people in apartment buildings in Lepel. Special attention was paid to the village of Borovka, where 15 visually impaired individuals reside. In Borovka, all social infrastructure facilities were checked for accessibility.
Based on the monitoring results, relevant reports were compiled, which will be submitted to the Interdepartmental Council.
Training sessions were held
focused on learning the rules of how to assist visually impaired individuals. This included communication ethics and common mistakes when interacting with blind and partially sighted people, with the participation of specialists from the Territorial Center for Social Services. A meeting was held with the management of the branch "Motor Transport Enterprise No. 14, Lepel"
regarding the creation of an accessible environment on the territory of the Lepel bus station.
Educational events were held for visually impaired individuals – "Safety Marathon" and "Being Independent is Cool!"
The "Person with a White Cane" month-long campaign is an opportunity not only to more productively address the pressing issues of blind and partially sighted people but, first and foremost, to change people's perceptions of how a blind person lives in the modern world and what achievements they can accomplish, — Olga Mikhailovna explained.
Prepared by Natalia Khrapovitskaya. Newspaper "Lepel Krai"