The trainees purchase items on their own inside the mall. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
Thirty-two visually impaired trainees of the Area Vocational Rehabilitation Center (AVRC II) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development joined the celebration of White Cane Safety Day.
White Cane Safety Day is celebrated on August 1 of every year in the Philippines to promote and protect the physical, moral and social well-being of all persons with disabilities (PWDs).
In preparation for the mall tour, the AVRC II personnel gave a lecture on the Basic Sighted Guide Techniques, Mobility Cane and its correct usage.
The trainees and DSWD-7 staff participated in the simulation activity at the AVRC II compound in Barangay Labangon, Cebu City. In the simulation, the sighted individuals were blindfolded for them to experience how difficult it is to be blind.
The AVRC II also experienced eating their lunch and washing their dishes while blindfolded.
The event ended with a mall tour, which gave opportunity to visually impaired trainees to be exposed in three malls in Metro Cebu. The trainees were grouped into three and went to Robinsons Galleria, Ayala Center Cebu and Park Mall. They were escorted by DSWD staff.
While inside the mall, the trainees experienced taking the escalator and elevator and touring the different areas of the establishment. They also interacted with some mall personnel like the sales persons and cashiers and had the chance to purchase items on their own.
The trainees were also oriented on the locations of the comfort rooms for them to know how to use the modern toilet facilities.
“Prior to my arrival in AVRC II, I refused to use the cane due to shame. Now, I realize how important it is because it serves as my protection from danger while walking on the street,” said Jeryll Aurello, a visually impaired trainee of AVRC II.
The use of the white cane as symbol of visual impairment was started in 1921 by Bristol photographer James Biggs after he lost his vision in an accident.
He chose the white cane so that even at night, he would be visible to pedestrians and motorists.