Editor
The Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN) on Tuesday joined the blind community in Lagos to mark the International White Cane Safety Day.
The International White Cane Safety Day celebrates the achievements of people who are blind or visually impaired.
The Day also highlights the principal symbol of blindness and tool of independence, the white cane.
Speaking at the event, the General Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of BSN, Pastor Samuel Sanusi, said that the society, in tandem with its mission, works to remove every known barrier in people’s access to the Word of God.
Represented by Mr Benjamin Mordi, Manager, Public Relations and Media, BSN, Sanusi said that the society had identified with the visually impaired to mark the White Cane Safety Day in the last 10 years.
According to him, as part of efforts to remove every known barriers for the blind in accessing the Word of God, BSN had committed a lot of resources to make the Braille Bible accessible to the blind.
He noted that to further ensure that the visually impaired were encouraged to read and interract with the World of God, the BSN had also initiated the Bible quiz competition for the blind.
Sanusi said that the society deployed its staff bus and some members of staff to guide the visually impaired who came out in their numbers for the long walk from Ojo Barrack to Lagos State University Gate (LASU) in Ojo.
He called on corporate organisations, good spirited individuals and government to identify with the community of the visually impaired to support the event annually.
Also speaking, Mr Adeola Aina, Vice Chairman, National Association of the Blind, Lagos state Chapter, said that the Day is set aside by the United Nations to celebrate the achievement and resilience of the visually impaired.
He noted that the day is also set aside to highlight the importance of the White cane as an instrument of mobility for the visually impaired.
He called on the government and corporate organisations to address some of the challenges of the vissually impaired such as access to decent employment, enabling environment and access to finance for business.
For Mr Tunde Mohammed, Sub committee Chairman for the event, White Cane day is an international observance that celebrates the white cane.
Mohammed described the white cane as a tool of mobility for the blind that enabled them to move from one point to the other.
“The white cane gives opportunity to the blind to move independently, to get educated and seek employment opportunities,” Mohammed said.
The event was witnessed by a huge number of visually impaired persons from every tribe, tongue and creed.
