October is usually known for Halloween prep, but this year the Rotary Club of Colombo Midtown (our parent club) busied themselves with another global event: World Sight Day.
World Sight Day is celebrated every second thursday of October, so on the 13th in collaboration with 5 other clubs, we set out to put Colombo Blind Walk in action.
What was Colombo Blindwalk?
It was a 1km walk from the starting point: Royal College Main Entrance. After the walk, participants were asked to help create a human mosaic in the shape of a person with a cane. This was followed by a small musical show, while refreshments were provided.
Most importantly, however, was the stall situated at the entrance for those interested in pledging for the donation of eyes after death. This was an initiative taken up by the Rotaract Club of Colombo University: Faculty of Finance (RCCOFMF) called ‘I to Eye’.
The Event
Registrations began promptly at 3:45 pm at the Entrance of Royal College, it was incredible to see the number of people showing up from different groups be it entire families, college friends to curious individuals who just decided to show up and see what the noise was about.
The crowd was quickly broken down to a groups of: six participants, 2 Rotaract volunteers to supervise and one partially blind individual who will be leading the pack.
I, myself was one of the volunteers who supervised the groups and my job proved to be insightful as I watched how quickly the blindfolded participants lost confidence and made unsure strides as they held onto each other’s shoulders as their only guidance.
To make it more challenging and effective, the participants were made to walk on the edge of the actual road, not the pavement.. so the noises of the cars whizzing past them definitely heightened the experience. (There were obviously many volunteers walking alongside them to ensure absolute safety and our slow pace made it a secure walk but our poor participants couldn’t see that at the time!)
After the walk was complete, everyone gathered at the university grounds to create the human mosaic, followed up with refreshments and a few musical performances. Throughout the evening, we were found to have collected up to 90 eye donation pledge forms!
The event came to end around 7 in the evening once all the certificates were handed out and the music performances and speeches had finished.
In Retrospect
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller
Colombo Blind Walk 2016 really embodied this quote. Every one of the participants that day gained a better understanding of how even the most mundane activities like walking down the road, could be frustrating or worse, dangerous.
It’s uplifting to know that an event like this has undoubtedly sparked many conversations and would hopefully raise one’s curiosity and need for knowledge of the blind community in Sri Lanka.
Personal Challenge:
What challenges do I see in my country for people who have losing their sight? And how can I help?
We can all look for ways and do our part to make our nation a more inclusive and safer place for everyone. Depends on what we look for.
The Teams Responsible:
This event wouldn’t have been the same without the help of the whole MidTown family: from the parent Rotary Club to our sister clubs:
- Rotaract Club of ACBT
- Rotaract Club of Colombo University: FMF
- Rotaract Club of Achievers
Interested in seeing more Coverage of Colombo Blind Walk?
Photos of the day are available here (courtesy of Flexus Labs), and visit the event page to see past discussions and videos (click here to watch a video)
