International White Cane Day: Walk held to support visually impaired people

Need for special education, livelihood programmes stressed.

ABBOTABAD:

The residents of Abbottabad held a walk to mark the International White Cane Safety Day on Saturday. The walk started from Rehmat Memorial Hospital at Supply Bazaar and ended at School of Blind Children Abbottabad.

The participants carried placards and banners expressing solidarity with the visually impaired people.

At the end of the walk, speakers highlighted the achievements of prominent visually impaired people and said they can play a positive role in the development of the society.

They stressed on the need to providing special education and livelihood programmes to the visually impaired on the pattern of the developed world to benefit from their talent.

The speakers also urged visually impaired people to take part in all kinds of activities instead of isolating themselves from the society, adding that their impairment could be defeated with if they showed courage.

Tehrik-e-Suba Hazara leaders Sardar Haidar Zaman Baba and Dr Azhar Jadoon, MPA Naeema Nisar, Asmat Khatak and other local political leaders also attended the walk.

White Cane Safety Day is observed across the world on October 15 every year since 1964 to mark the highlight the achievements and importance of visually impaired people in the world.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 16^th, 2011.