WELFARE OF THE BLIND

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 71, 10 April 1937, Page 19

WELFARE OF THE BLIND

Helpmgr Unfortunates To Be Independent « ADDRESS TO ROTARIANS The fact that the blind. ; in New Zealand . were in a much betteT position that in any other country, dne to' their being in receipt of a good peqsion and other means of earning a Uvqiihood was mentioned by Mr Geo. Ashdown, ' repTesemtative of the NeW Zealand Institute for the Blind, in afi address at th© Hastings Rotary Club'ji weekly - luneheon meeting yesterday. j - It -was possible for a blind man *who was married and had two children, to receive as much as £5 10/- a week, he said, and* this ; was ■ measurably bettejr than iq "America,4 Where thpugh . they have many institutions for the -blind they have not e'volved a particularly great system for- putting into aetion and employment the inmates of those institutions. ■ ' 'It is estimated that • in about 20 yeai's fully 60* per ' cent of the blind peopl© in this country will be selfsupporting and well able to live normal lives in just the same manner as the sighted people," he said, when referring to the work that the institute found for those afflicted. Already the manufaeture of baskets and such articles was bringing in a revenue of about. £1400 a year and it was necessary to enlarge the workshops at Auckland. One big problem that if was hoped to tackle within the nest year or two, Mr Ashdown said, ;Was that of meeting the needs of the bhud women. They were a greater problem. to deal with than th© men for they were at a greater handicap. It was hoped, however, that a home would be built for such women in two or three years time. The speaker said that despite the fact that "the women could not see the colours, or the beauty of a seene, they nevertheless could appreeiate the delight of a bright, ;neat and pleasing atmosphere. This. was indlcated by th® fact that many of the women at present in the small home at Auckland had their cufiicles decorated accordr ing to a definite colour scheme, and arranged their quarters with the same degree of nattiness and daintiness nominal women and girls. JEarly Methods Dealing with the early history of the movement towards the care of the blind, Mr Ashdown said that there wag no welfare or society for the blind prior to the 18 century. It was a little over 150 years since the first institute wag founded in Paris, but that was only for sleeping quarters for som© 300 soldiers. It was not until 1791 thaf a inove was mad© towardB providing the blind with som© means of edutatifin' and 'employment, and after th© setting. np of ft workshop in Paris and in othqr parts of Europe, the first 'institution was foiinded in Liverpool. Fr.om this step there foUowed the foiinding of a number of institutions all over. England and "VVales. They ' w'erej ' hcwever, very small and it .was not until 1834, when the Braille system was .eyolved, that the opportunity was afforded the blind people to live independent lives, eariing their own living and enjoying almost all th© sam© pleagures as the sighted people. The welfare and education of the blind steadily inorease, and towards* the close of the last century there were 42 workshops and 24 sehools in England and Wales. The mfinner of education, , however, was not the same as in New Zealand to-day where the blind children receive the same education as the ordinary children. "Th© welfar© of the blind underwent a revolution after the Great War," he said. "At that time there were 2800 blind soldiers and eailors, and Sir Arthnr Pearson founded that wonderful and inspiring institution, St. Dunstan' s. The spirit of St. Dunstan' s has spread far and wide, and blind peopl© tq~day are living on a social standard far above anything they enjoyed previqusly. It is one of the blessings, if there are any to he counted, put of the Great War," Treatment in New Zealand Concerning the welfare of th© blind in New Zealand, the speaker said that it was 47 years ago that the first step in this direction was taken, but it was not until 1920 that the problem was tackled in any great measure. TJndei the gujdance, leadership and inspiration of Sir . Clutha Mackenzie, the institution was now doing very good work and was right in the forefront, and its work compared very favourably indeed with other institutions in the world. • "Th© policy 'has been, as far as it is possible to do so, to train men, women and children to live independently>" said Mr Ashdown. "They ar© encouraged to live normal' lives in the community and not in institutions. Every effort is made to try and instil a feeling of independence. Th© children, and there are about 30 of them at present, receive the sam© lessons as the kiddies in other sehools."