I just read Mike Jones' observations on blind mobility in the less overdeveloped world. The ideas of using local materials and local producers to find a more affordable cane is excellent, and his perceptions of the tribal attitudes squares with my admittedly limited experience in such places. I have two things to add to the discussion. First, equipment that we might think of as junk may be highly appreciated in Third World places. I visited friends in Ciudad Sandino, the poorest city in Nicaragua, the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, back in 2010. My friends arranged for me to meet a few blind people there, so I brought along some old folding canes with very tired bungee cords and other given-to-me magnifiers in various stages of usefulness. These were accepted with great appreciation -- I think it was genuine. These canes were better than anything that was available to them, and I expect they found users shortly after I left them off. My other experience was here in the USA at a couple NFB conventions. Whenever I go to an NFB convention one of the highlights for me is the Cane Walk. In the last two conventions I've attended I've had the privilege to be paired up with some people from Bishkek, the capital of the central Asian republic of Kirghizstan. I can't remember their names, but if you need them I can look them up back at home. Anyway, there is a blind woman in Bishkek who got interested in opening a training center for the blind there, and she has done so, and then brought some of her students to NFB conventions for training and broadening of horizons. I was very impressed by her young students, mostly in their 20's. Since Kirghizstan is a poor country, I'm sure she faces many of the same problems of financial and equipment resources that exist in Barbados and other such places, and she might have something valuable to contribute to this discussion. I'd be glad to fetch her name if anyone wants to follow up on it. Jonathan Ice From: NOMC [mailto:nomc-bounces at lists.nbpcb.org] On Behalf Of Deb and Jeff Altman Sent: Sunday, February 07, 2016 12:07 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