The Gambia Organisation of the Visually Impaired (GOVI), an organisation established in 199, by an amalgamation of the Gambia Society for the Blind and the Gambia Association of the Blind, on Monday October 22, commemorated “World White Cane Day” in Basse, Upper River Region, on the theme “Women Empowerment”.

The commemoration which is observed all over the world, has been proclaimed to enlighten motorists and pedestrians to assume their moral and social responsibilities in assisting the blind to move freely and safely. The occasion which brought together hundreds of blind people across the country, took the form of a march-past, along the streets of Basse. Addressing hundreds of participants at the Basse mini stadium, Mamout Mboom Touray, Executive Director of GOVI, expressed delight for the massive turnout.

He said they have been celebrating this important day in The Gambia for quite sometime, all geared towards enlightening the general public, especially road users to play their moral role in assisting the blind to move freely and safely anywhere as their sighted counterparts, noting that this can be done through the use of white cane. Mboom Touray further revealed that, the cane is very clear to the visually impaired, saying “it is their touch light which is used for various purposes, such as to communicate with motorists and pedestrians on streets and highways”.

He then appealed to the general public to learn and know more about the white cane, and to disregard all taboos associated with the use of cane and blindness, in particular. He further stressed the need for people with visibility problems to be empowered in a bid to enable them play their respective roles in their countries as, according to him, “excluding the blind on our societal activities always leave a vacuum that only they can fill”.

“Although blind people lack sight, they do not lack intelligence and they aspire for the same things as any other member of society. They are people with families, although with few friends, they need to be educated and be gainfully employed and hold respectable positions in society,” he noted. Mboom Touray then hailed the strong support received from The Gambia government, through the department of State for Social welfare and the education special unit, the Sight Savers International, for being the sole sponsors of their community based rehabilitation Project (CBR) and all other genuine friends of GOVI. Muhammed Corrah, President of GOVI, expressed similar sentiments.

Omar Khan, Governor of Upper River Region, expressed delight in hosting the annual event. He noted that the blind people are members of society, but cannot live their lives to the fullest, nor can they be effective participants in their communities or organisation unless they are confident of themselves, saying that they should be empowered to have equal opportunities as their sighted counterparts. “Most visually impaired in the world today received no service at all.

They are face with challenges, such as isolation, cultural attitudes, low self-esteem, scarce employment, amongst others when seeking equal opportunity within their communities,” he observed. Governor Khan posited that more concerted efforts are needed towards eradicating, such challenges, describing it as one way for people to assume more responsibilities for the expansion of services. Other speakers at the occasion included Hon. Sellu Bah, NAM for Basse Constituency, Hammeh Krubally, Chief of Basse, and mariama Jaw, Lady Councillor, who all commended GOVI for living up to the expectation of the blind people. In the same vein, GOVI held its annual General Meeting in Basse.