While Barbados has made strides in creating infrastructure for members of the disabled community to succeed, there is still a ways to go.
This is according to former President of the Senate, The Most Honourable Kerryann Ifill, and attorney and national advocate, Janeil Odle.
With last Thursday being marked globally as World Sight Day, they reflected on the highs and lows of Barbados’ continuing efforts to be accessible for all.
Ifill, president of the Caribbean Council for the Blind, and public relations officer of the National United Society of the Blind Barbados, said Barbadians must pay more attention to their eyes as cases of visual impairment were on the rise.
Visual impairment
“Too often, people ignore what they think of as something small, and it then escalates into a challenge. It is acknowledged that visual impairment is on the rise due to diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration. We don’t have as many children becoming blind, but we still have a lot of people who are living with visual impairment of some sort; that is a globally recognised reality,” she told the DAILY NATION.
Ifill said Barbados had made strides in being more physically, socially and economically accessible for those with visual impairments, but cautioned this was no time to rest on its laurels.
“We have successes; unfortunately, sometimes we point to those success stories and think that we’ve got it all right. We haven’t, but we are getting better with the passage of legislation. In January, the adoption of the national policy with plans for educational reform and the inclusive education policy, all those things speak to improving the lives of persons with disabilities, specifically and in general terms, and have different measures and steps which would enhance the lives of the blind and visually impaired community,” she said.
The former senator said she was heartened by the increase of blind students in schools as well as the success of Odle, the first blind attorney in Barbados, but added her major concern was with the banking sector.
“We’d love to see better access to financial institutions and banking for the blind and visually impaired, but things have improved. I can’t not talk about the tactile markings on the currency; the last two iterations of the Barbados dollar have come with that, which means that the sector is more mindful of us. You have online banking solutions, and many of them have improved access for the blind and visually impaired. So, while it’s not perfect, they’re getting there,” she said.
Odle said she was pleased to see progress in legal
protections for the disabled community.
“Last October, Cabinet passed policy to improve the lives of persons with disabilities and then in January this year, it passed the rights of persons with disabilities legislation.
Huge plus
“That legislation outlines a lot of rights. It’s a very comprehensive piece of legislation which speaks to the obligation of society as a whole, and the rights of persons with disabilities as it relates to education, employment, accessibility, etcetera. So that is, of course, a huge plus for persons with disabilities, because we now have ground to stand on,” she said.
Even so, the attorney pointed out there was still a lot of work to be done to change the attitudes of some people and break down societal barriers caused by stigma, but while it was a difficult journey, it was a necessary one.
Odle, a former Barbados Exhibition winner, said one thing she hoped to see happen within her lifetime was fully inclusive education. She added education was a pathway to success, and too many people with disabilities ended up disadvantaged.
“Those with disabilities who are excluded from equal and equitable education are often at a disadvantage on the job market, and that leads to our high unemployment rates among us. I would like to see more financial freedom for persons with disabilities, employment for persons with disabilities.
“I also believe that inclusive education would also lead to reducing the stigma and mental barriers because we know that as children, when we grow up seeing something and are exposed to something, it becomes a norm to us. So when we grow up seeing persons with disabilities being segregated and isolated, then we see them as being different and grow up seeing them as different,” she said.
Odle said she was taking part in the Caribbean Disability Conference at Wyndham Grand Resort from October 17 to 22 under the theme Breaking Barriers: Advancing Inclusive Education For All Abilities. (CA)
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