Castle Bromwich Community Website

If you're reading this it's unlikely that you've experienced a shopping trip without seeing where you are going, who you are talking to or what obstacles are in your way, but that's just the experience that the estimated 314 million people with visual impairments including low vision and blindness live with every day.

For those of us fortunate enough to be able to see clearly, it's difficult to imagine what life might be like for those people who are not so fortunate. To raise awareness of the importance of regular sight tests to pick up any possible eye problems at an early stage when they are usually treatable, It is estimated that 80% of blindness could be prevented if problems are detected at an early stage. Depite this it is estimated that the incidence of blindness will double in the next 20 years. It was against this backCastle Bromwich & District Lions invited members of the local community to experience a walk around the shopping centre without vision.

Pat Wooldridge, President of the Castle Bromwich Lions, Ian Backhouse, Headteacher of Castle Bromwich Junior School, Councillor Ted Richards OBE and Shabbir Kaderbhai, a local Optician, were amoung those who volunteered to be blindfolded and guided around the area. With some trepidation they set off on their journey and and were soon very aware of how reliant they are on their sight. Most commented afterwards on how disorientated they were and several said they felt dizzy. They all said they had to place their trust in their guides to enable them to do something which they would normally undertake without problems.

The biggest problems were encountered when trying to cross roads, despite the improvements in street furniture and crossing designs with the introduction of bumped pavements to indicate crossings, this still proved to be a difficult task. Trying to move between parked cars aas was necessary to reach the zebra crossing proved even more difficult both for the guides and the guided.

Negotiating steps and doorways was another difficult aspect of the task which would have proved virtually impossible without the help of a guide and once inside the shops anything on sale could only be experienced through touch, smell and in a few instances sound rather than being able to see what was on offer.

Despite all this, it is doubtful that any of these volunteers could truely experince what it's like to live without vision as at the end of the walk they removed their blindfolds and carried on with their normal routines unimpeded by lack of vision, but they all hope that they have raised awareness of the importance of regular eye checks to ensure that preventable vision loss is eradicated.