INTERNATIONAL WOMENS DAY 2012

Celebrating International Womens Day

Regional Governments urged to place more emphasis on women who are blind and visually impaired
I dont think we as groups representing disabled persons are doing enough advocacy work ....we need to focus more on issues relating to women (Lola Marson, C.Sw, B.Sc-Sw (Hons) DPA, M.Sc.) President of the Caribbean Council for the Blind (CCB), Lola Marson, has called on Governments across the Caribbean to place more emphasis on highlighting the plight of women who are blind and visually impaired . In an interview to mark International Womens Day, the CCB President, who is also the Executive Director of the Jamaica Society for the Blind, appealed to groups representing the disabled to increase their visibility. challenges facing women who are blind or visually impaired. If you have no sight and you have not adjusted to the situation; if you are not able to get out and know that there are training institutions and you do not seek help, you wont be able to liberate yourself. You have to try and access all that is there she said. The Caribbean Council for the Blind estimates that there are more than sixty thousand (60,000) persons living with blindness across the Anglophone Caribbean. A further one hundred and eighty I dont think that groups representing persons who are disabled are doing enough advocacy work. In times gone by we used to be more visible, but now people are focused on getting bread on the table, therefore some things get swept under the table. We are not focusing enough on issues relating to women, in particular. thousand (180,000), though not blind, have lost enough sight to be classied as visually handicapped. As we celebrate International Womens Day 2012, CCB remains committed to fullling its purpose of preventing blindness and visual impairment while She pointed to another area of concern - that of rehabilitation (adjustment to blindness) for women who have lost their sight. restoring sight and creating opportunities for those whose sight cannot be restored.

There are a number of issues that women face, for instance, (usually) there are more males than females being rehabilitated, when research has found that the majority of persons who are blind tend to be women. The CCB President noted that public education must continue to play a major role in highlighting the
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvBn_0yJS5s

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My Blindness Was Ordained

I cannot let my colleagues see me as anything less than they are. I want to be their equal not a dependant, they cannot see me as anything less. The Honourable Kerryann F. Ill - Deputy President of the Senate, Barbados

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She spent six months in the United States and on returning to Barbados was enrolled in the Irvin Wilson School for the Blind. "From then on, I had a normal existence more or less; yes, it was a totally different existence; the School only had six pupils; they were of varying ages so it wasn't the same kind of socialization process." ! While at the Irvin Wilson School for the Blind, life, for Kerryann, was good. She recalls having a typical childhood and even occasionally getting into trouble. "I got into mischief like anyone else. I remember at 8 years old jumping up in the laundry that my poor grandmother had folded. She was royally mad and came to spank myself and my two cousins. I remember telling her that I was already blind and she wanted to punish me. I got lashes still, which on reection now, she was right, so being blind was not an excuse. Combermere Days Not only did members of her immediate family beam with pride on that day, but so did the nation of Barbados; and as the word spread members of the community of blind and visually impaired worldwide took notice. The signicance of this is that Kerryann, who was born in 1974, is blind and has been since the age of four but her blindness has never hindered her. "I had juvenile cataracts, a hereditary condition. Somewhere in treating it (the cataracts), something went wrong and my retinas became permanently damaged. So even though they removed one cataract, it did not do anything. So I have no light perception and less than one percent of the blind population has to deal with that, for me sight just does not exist. But there are vivid memories of having sight. "I remember colors; my favourite memory is watching the sunset and birds ying home. Those two things are the memories I hold dearest. I can vaguely remember what my mother looks like and my family and home. But the sunset, that part of it when the sun looks as though it has just burst into ames, when the whole sky lights up like this magnicent re. That's my favorite memory. For the rst few months after she lost her sight, Kerryann stayed at home and in her words - doing absolutely nothing. "I did nothing all day but sat in chair, swinging my feet and being bored stiff. The years rolled by quickly and very soon her greatest desire was to go to Secondary School. Her School of choice was Combermere. She recalls being interviewed by a Journalist from a local newspaper. "It (the article) was just about me and my life and what I did and didn't do. What he (the journalist) asked was if I had any wishes. Most people would believe that if you have a disability, your wish would be not to have that disability, but that wasn't mine. My wish was that I would get into secondary school for just one day, only one day. And that's where the then Minister of Youth Affairs, Keith Simmons stepped in. He read the article and didn't see why I should only go for one day; he tried to make it happen and so he did. That September at the age of 14, I became a Second Form Student at Combermere School and I am a proud Combermerian from that day until now. Kerryann made history not only at Combermere, but in Barbados. "It (Combermere) was as integrated as they could make it. At the time, I was the rst student who was totally blind to go to a mainstream School. I tell people that my blindness was not something that happened by accident, it was ordained. My stars just fell into alignment; even by the way I got into Secondary School.

From the corridors of the Combermere School on

the island of Barbados to the halls of Parliament, Kerryann Ill's journey has been nothing but remarkable. Having overcome many obstacles, on February 4, 2008, she proudly took the oath as one of twelve Government Senators appointed by the then Prime Minister of Barbados, the late David Thompson.

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the biggest challenge, to overcome I used to take copious notes in class. "Slow down Kerry" The Teachers at Combermere helped as best they could; as a result they would read the notes aloud instead of writing on the blackboard. "The students liked that because they didn't have to look at the board; the plus too is that if they got me angry, I would write really, really fast and the students would shout "slow down Kerry! Regret and highlights Seated in her ofce at the Barbados Council for the Disabled, Kerryann shared one of her greatest disappointments in life - that of wanting to be an Attorney-at-Law. "I remember when I was in Third Form, the Guidance Counsellor came around and she told me that I couldn't be a Lawyer because I wouldn't be able to see to defend my clients. She was the professional, so I took her advice. I personally never knew any Lawyer who was blind, so for me it was just a dream. Since then, I don't think I really came up with the right career, because I never felt comfortable with any other career than Law. Even though now I know I can still do it, it's a whole new direction to take in my life right now. So with her dreams of being a Lawyer dashed, Kerryann turned to her second love and studied Sociology and Psychology at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies in Barbados, where she holds the distinction of being the rst student who is blind on that Campus. Graduating from Cave Hill with Upper Second Class Honours was another accomplishment. "The reason being when I got into Combermere, they said it was because the Minister felt I should be there. When I got into Cave Hill, it's because I had the A Levels to back it up . When I graduated with Upper Seconds, I felt really, really good. I did my MBA with the Durham Business School - that was another big highlight.

"I remember that rst morning.everybody knew that this thing was happening. Reporters were all over the place; there were phone calls from as early as ve o'clock in the morning. .I remember going to the Principal's Ofce, my Form Teacher came to be with me and she took me to prayers. And I remember sitting in the front row at the very end on the right- hand side of the Hall. The rst Hymn I sang that morning was Morning Has Broken and it was one of the few Hymns I knew by heart. That is how I knew I belonged, because I got to sing every word of my rst Hymn in Secondary School! So, not even the Hymn I was left out of. But that wasn't all. I also remembered when they announced that I was present, there was this cheer that went through the whole Hall. I have never felt so much apart of anything in my life as I did that moment. That is why I will never be anything but a proud Combermerian! However despite the overwhelming feeling of now being a Combermerian, there were challenges. "Now I became more aware of the challenges; remember this is before technology.. I had to take to School my Perkins Braille machine; you know that isnt small. It was in a box that was heavy; then I had a manual typewriter and my school bag. I kid you not. I quickly made lots of friends and it became the thing to be carrying Kerry's stuff. There was another challenge, the biggest one of all for this new High School student was that of getting textbooks. "It's the biggest challenge students who are visually impaired still face now, although the Caribbean Council for the Blind (CCB) had started a programme at the time translating texts into Braille; that got off the ground when I was in Sixth Form Before that, my books were done in Canada. They were sent to Barbados through the Diplomatic channels. A lot of the Farm Workers also brought boxes home with them as part of the way to help me. I don't know any of their names, but I am always grateful to those who helped out by bringing those boxes down with them. It was difcult, but that was

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Work life "By default, I have ended up in the eld of Disability. For a long time, I fought against it in the sense that I didn't want to be pigeon- holed, and I still don't. But I think this is where I need to be for now, working with Disabilities. But her achievements did not end there. "I did Ballroom Dancing, the rst person who is blind to do that - up to the Silver Level in Ballroom Dancing. There is nothing that I haven't wanted to do that I haven't done. I am the Superintendent of my Sunday School because I love working with children. I've done Crocheting and I'm involved with assistive technology and that has become my passion because it has equalized things for the disabled, and so I want other persons who are blind and visually impaired to experience the freedom I feel when I sit down in front of my computer. Senator the Honourable Kerryann Ill Becoming a Senator was another highlight. Years ago, Kerryann declared that she would never ever get involved in Politics - her reason? - "I love to sleep at nights. Little did she know how things were about to change following the General Elections held on January 15, 2008 when the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) won and the late David Thompson was appointed Prime Minister. "Imagine my dismay when I got a call a week later saying they were considering me for the post of Senator , but they were considering other people so for me it was not a big deal. The 30th of January came along and I got a call saying this is David Thompson - now everyone in Barbados knew who David Thompson was; how do you tell the Prime Minister no? I was sitting in the ofce and when I hung up the phone one of my friends came in; I could only say I have to go to the bathroom! I could not get this thing fathomed in my brain. I reconciled myself to being a Senator and I went to the swearing-in and all that went ne. By now she had accepted the fact that she was now a

Senator and the rst Senator who is visually impaired. However, another surprise was in store. After the swearing-in at Government House, the youngest Senator at the time was 25 years old; he and I were the two youngest. We were standing together, and he said we should get used to being together - the Clerk of Parliament who was standing close-by said not necessarily. I was further shocked on the opening of Parliament when I was told that the Prime Minister wanted me to serve as Deputy President - I said is this man for real? Senator Kerryann Ill has used this platform and others to highlight the plight of the Disabled. "When I go to Parliament, I walk with a cane 99 percent of the time; my main reason is that I cannot let my colleagues see me as anything less than they are. I want to be their equal not a dependant; they cannot see me as anything less. When the young Senator demitted ofce, I realised that I had done myself a disservice because we were always in each others company so much that people in Parliament were asking how I was going to manage without him being there. I had to curb that and become aggressively independent. Concerning support for the disabled across the region, Kerryann believes that Governments need to place more emphasis on educating and employing the disabled. "Even though more of our children are getting into school, we still have a long way to go; even though you're getting to go to school, then what? Where do you go after you leave school? What do you do? Employment is another major area, in all of the territories they still have the old- fashioned Sheltered Workshop environment; those have long gone the way of the dinosaur; not that we don't need Centers of that nature; we do, but not constructed as they were 50 years ago; not just as a place of segregation; we don't live in a vacuum. For Kerryann Ill, life is all about challenges. My life has been a constant stream of "for real" moments. One thing she knows for sure, her blindness was ordained.

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Explore the stories of two other remarkable Caribbean women.

DID YOU KNOW?

Hyacinth Daniel - A Journey of Faith

She has climbed the famous Pitons in her homeland of St Lucia; she loves a good game of cricket and is proud of her accomplishments - all done since losing her sight over twenty years ago.
(http://eyecarecaribbean.com/our-work-in-st-lucia/ajourney-of-faith)

Juliettes Reality (Overcoming tragedy)

When I turned I saw that man, Matha. When I tried to run, he stepped on the back of my shoe and I fell at on my belly and he continued chopping me, on my ear, my eyes, my hands,
(http://eyecarecaribbean.com/eye-on-sight/eye-onsight-issue-4-january-2012

Women in developing countries are more likely than men to have cataract blindness and vision loss.

This bulletin has been produced with the assistance of our partners including:
The European Union

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), women account for approximately 64% of the blind population.

Sightsavers
St. Lucia Blind Welfare Association Barbados Association for the Blind and Deaf

Two out of every three persons who are blind are women

The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of CCB/Eye Care Caribbean and can in no way be taken to reect the views of our Partners