[Nomc] [NOMC] A question for your consideration

One of my students was working for a group that did training on different eye surgeries throughout the world. We discussed that in some countries when someone loses there sight they are just dismissed and not expected to do much. We all know this, however something I didn't realize is that there are many communist countries that you do not go to the doctor or do much of anything unless you are told to. She said this was one of the biggest problems they faced, They could not help but a fraction of the estimated group they expected to. This may be a big barrier to overcome even to Trane people on proper mobility skills as well. Well to answer the first question, I like bamboo. It is flexible and can grow many different climates depending on the genus and species. You can even put a screw in the end wrap that end with some strong thread and a bit of glue and you can put a metal chrome cane tip on it. David Nietfeld From: NOMC [mailto:nomc-bounces at lists.nbpcb.org] On Behalf Of Lansaw,Jane (DARS) Sent: Monday, February 08, 2016 7:50 AM To: Deb and Jeff Altman; nomc at lists.nbpcb.org Subject: Re: [Nomc] A question for your consideration Jeff, this is an interesting discussion. So let's assume I'm not aware of American culture or attitudes on blindness. Why am I making a cane for myself? Deja's prot?g? in Barbados got the idea somewhere that it might be handy to have a probe in front of him. How can we spread that idea? Occasionally totally blind folks pick it up as a natural survival method. Get something to clear the path or sit in the corner all of one's life. That isn't always the case and even so, blind folks with a little vision fall through the cracks. I did and I live in this country. I didn't know how a cane could make my life easier because I had some vision and thought it was only for totally blind people. Someone has to put the word out that it's a good low vision tool too, especially regarding depth perception. Once people know they need canes they will find a way to get or make them. Before we had fiberglass or even aluminum canes we had wood. Before we had trained professionals to teach we had blind people inventing their own survival skills with a wooden stick. I remember a story about a guy in Louisiana who came to town with a tree branch to replace a broken or lost cane. He told me his VR counselor said he looked like Moses coming out of the wilderness. In Jernigan's speech, Is History Against Us, we learned about John Metcalf. He had a stick that was as tall as he was. How did he get the idea? Would he have done all the things he is purported to do if he hadn't had a nice long probe to clear his way? The first thing we need to do is sell the concept of the cane and the only way to do that is to get blind people into the areas where they can be visible. One thing that concerns me about Deja's prot?g?, is will he go home? So many immigrants get inside the US and realize how much better it is than home and want to stay. That's how most of us got here. We see this among sighted people in higher professions such as medicine and engineering. They don't want to take the new skills home because they want to live here. We can't blame them but I wish I could say to Deja's prot?g? and others, go home and spend as much time teaching teachers as we spent teaching you and when you have 5 people back home who can do what you can do, then you can come back if you are driven to live here. We're expending resources to get visible, successful blind people in your area to spread the word so don't just come here and hide out. Pay for your training by paying it forward to someone back home. I know I rambled a bit but that was what went through my mind. Now how can we raise the money to bring people over to learn about the cane? From: NOMC [mailto:nomc-bounces at lists.nbpcb.org] On Behalf Of Deb and Jeff Altman Sent: Sunday, February 07, 2016 1:07 PM To: nomc at lists.nbpcb.org Subject: [NOMC] A question for your consideration Hello Everyone, I would like to start a disscussion here, well, more of a brain storming session. From my contacts on Facebook, it has become clear to me that many blind people outside of the United states simply do not have the sort of opportunities that would allow them to become successful. The first issue is access to just the basics, starting with the long white cane. Now, there have long been programs to try to send canes to these places, and to some degree they are successful, but still the need isn't being met. So, here is what I want to ask all of you: Imagine you need to make a cane for yourself, but the stuff you normally would use, fiberglass, aluminum , and the like simply isn't available. What would you use, and how would you use it to make the cane you needed? My thought is that perhaps we could find some solutions that would allow folks in these situations to be able to either make their own canes, or to find someone that has the skills and access to the materials to do it within their own communities. Jeff Altman