Visually impaired people voiced their problems at a meeting with Vladimir Penin, Deputy Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee
Every year in October – November, the "Person with a White Cane" month is held in Belarus, aiming to draw attention to the problems of the blind.
– The state cares for people with disabilities, but perhaps not enough, so I wanted to hear firsthand where else we are falling short, – said Vladimir Petrovich.
To improve the quality and standard of living for people with disabilities in Belarus, the State Program for Social Protection and Employment Promotion for 2016 – 2020 is in effect: a barrier-free environment is being created, and assistance is provided in employment.
Authorities and the Public Association "Belarusian Association of the Visually Impaired" ("BelTIZ") are closely cooperating to address the problems of the blind and visually impaired.
Social adaptation and rehabilitation of people with disabilities are carried out in all territorial centers for social services for the population of the region and in the rehabilitation department for the visually impaired of the Vitebsk residential care home for the elderly and disabled. This department is the only one of its kind in Belarus and has existed in Vitebsk for 10 years. Here, people are taught to live with complete or partial vision loss. This year alone, 123 people have undergone rehabilitation at the department.
Taking into account the wishes of the Public Association "BelTIZ", the Committee for Labor, Employment, and Social Protection of the Regional Executive Committee purchases technical aids for the rehabilitation of the visually impaired: mobile phones, watches, players with speech synthesizers, smartphones with navigation functions, and voice recorders.
Dmitry Kholodovich, a specialist in social rehabilitation of visually impaired individuals at the boarding house, demonstrated how to use the "Shturman" program on a smartphone. He also appealed to Vladimir Penin with a request to assist in reducing the declared service life of smartphones issued to visually impaired individuals from 10 to 5 years, as technology quickly becomes obsolete and fails to perform its tasks.
To ensure a barrier-free environment, some museums acquire an "audio guide" system, and traffic lights equipped with audible signals are installed at particularly busy intersections. Representatives of the NGO "BelTIZ" expressed a wish for the traffic light sound to depend on the ambient noise level, ensuring comfort for both the visually impaired and residents living near such "talking" objects.
For ease of orientation and safety in social infrastructure buildings, the first and last steps of staircases are painted with contrasting paint, and tactile, anti-slip materials are used. However, this is not done everywhere, noted Konstantin Lamchanovsky, Chairman of the NGO "BelTIZ."
Since January 2017, a new standard for sidewalk design has been in effect, but architects have not yet taken it into account. Tactile tiles at the descent of a crossing, according to this standard, will allow a blind person to orient themselves on where to go and avoid slipping.
Another problem for blind or visually impaired individuals is identifying the number of an approaching bus at a stop. Representatives of "BelTIZ" proposed using large numbers or adopting Minsk's experience. In Minsk, audible beacons are installed in public transport, which are linked to the same "Shturman" program on smartphones.
“We will definitely study all the issues raised. Those that we can resolve at the regional level, we will resolve, but many of the problems voiced are of a republican level, so we will appeal to higher authorities,” assured Vladimir Penin.
Alexander Khristoforov, Chairman of the Committee for Labor, Employment, and Social Protection of the Regional Executive Committee, reported that proposals for 2018 are currently being developed for the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for 2017-2025. The wishes of the representatives of the NGO "BelTIZ" will be taken into account.