THE Lions Club of Kingston is to establish by next month, a registry for blind persons living in Jamaica.

"We are going to be registering every blind person in Jamaica. We have some funding from the Jamaica National Foundation and from CHASE (Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education Fund) to fund that project and we are hoping to get that kicked off in September," Winston Barrett, immediate past-president of the club told the Observer on Monday.

"The issue at hand is that there are a lot of opportunities, even through things like the government drug scheme, but it is not reaching some of these people because they don't know about it and government don't know where they are," he explained.

According to Barrett, the project will not only identify blind persons, but will also help them to find existing services that meet their needs.

"Once somebody becomes blind, it takes about $60,000 in training to train them to be able to walk around by themselves. [We want to find out] how many people want that. How many people need skills training? So what we are hoping to do is identify what the real needs are and then direct them to where these needs can be met," he said.

"I think gone are the days when we lock up persons with disability. We are seeing more blind persons going to university, going to high school and so we want to continue that programme where people understand that being blind doesn't mean that it is the end of the world," he added.

Barrett said all 25 Lions Club across the island will play an integral role in identifying and registering the blind persons. The club will also be working closely with the Jamaica Society for the Blind and the Adult Blind Club of Jamaica. It is estimated that more than 23,000 blind persons live in Jamaica.

The Lions Club International has made sight conservation and blindness one of their primary focuses since 1925.
"Almost every Lions Club in the world has a sight related project," Barrett told the Observer.

Executive Class

Gardens with Gravel

Death to the Mullet!