Staff and volunteers from Manx Blind Welfare Society will be out and about around the Island with a series of roadshows during the upcoming Vision Awareness Week.

They will be available to explain more about the services and support the charity offers to blind and visually impaired people of all ages in the Island, as well as offering advice on what you can do to look after your eyesight.

The first Vision Awareness Week, from 15th to 21st September, aims to explain what people can do to embrace visual impairment in society, in the workplace and in all walks of life, and gain a greater understanding of how those with a visual impairment live.

The charity will outline the simple steps we can all take to enhance the daily experience of blind and visually impaired people by anticipating and meeting their needs, and call for significant improvements in access to public services for blind and visually impaired people.

During Vision Awareness Week, MBWS will also be encouraging people to think about their own eye health and the possible impact their lifestyle could have on their future vision.

The roadshows will be from 10am to 3pm at Castletown Civic Hall on 16th September, Corrin Hall, Peel, on 17th September, Ramsey Town Hall on 18th September and Promenade Church, Douglas, on 19th September.

Volunteers Coordinator and Events Organiser Debbie Kenyon said: ‘We already look after the interests of almost 600 people in the Isle of Man with serious visual impairment, and offer a wide range of services to many more people. Our services are available, free of charge and in confidence, to anyone living with a visual impairment, whatever their age and whether the sight problem is newly diagnosed or not.

‘Our aim is to help everyone live as independently as they want, and support people as they adapt to living with a visual impairment. There is a lot of assistance we can give people, so there is no need to struggle with a visual impairment alone.

‘The aim of the roadshows is to explain what services and support are available, as we believe there are more people out there who could benefit from what we do.’

She added: ‘There will also be information about what we can do, as a community, to improve the lives of blind and visually impaired people, such as cutting overhanging vegetation and not parking on pavements.

‘Vision Awareness Week is also about explaining what you can do to look after your own eyesight, so we will have information available at the roadshows about the importance of regular eye check-ups and how early detection of a problem may help prevent sight loss.’

Vision Awareness Week launches on 15th September, when Steve Cunningham, a three-times World Record breaker who lost his sight at 12, will address an audience at the Manx Museum. Tickets for the event, which is being supported by Specsavers, are still available, priced ?10.

It will conclude with Walk My Way, supported by Conister Bank, the largest guided walking event ever held in the Isle of Man. The free-to-enter event on 21st September will see people paired up, with one blindfolded, for a walk from the War Memorial on Harris Promenade, Douglas, to opposite the Empress Hotel on Central Promenade and back. This will be a chance to experience some of the challenges faced by blind and visually impaired people, as well as the techniques MBWS offers training in to help sighted people confidently and safely assist visually impaired people.

Debbie said: ‘I hope the whole community will get involved in Vision Awareness Week. I’d like to thank Specsavers and Conister Bank for their sponsorship, and also Celton Manx, which has provided invaluable support to allow us to publicise our events.’

For more details about Vision Awareness Week, or to order tickets for the official launch, call 674727 or email enquiries@mbws.org.im.
To find out more about MBWS, visit www.facebook.com/manxblindwelfaresociety.