White Cane Day: Helping blind people to live life with dignity

The white cane is used across the world by people who are blind or visually impaired as a tool for safe and reliable navigation. The white cane is a symbol of the user’s skills and talents, mobility and independence and provides a way for the sighted population to recognise that the user is visually impaired. October 15 2023, is globally recognized as International White Cane Day. According to the World Blind Union which is a global organization representing the 285 million blind or partially sighted people worldwide, “White Cane Day is observed worldwide to recognize the movement of blind people from dependency to full participation in society.”

The Federation provides white canes free of charge to those visually impaired citizens who cannot afford to buy their own. Any individuals or organisations interested in sponsoring the provision of blind canes or in supporting self-employment projects for the blind, can contact Ms. Nilmini on 0711-949379 or email [email protected].

 The Sri Lanka Federation of the Visually Handicapped, which is an organization helping blind people to live life with dignity, wishes to increase awareness of the white cane and its meaning in Sri Lanka. Navigating through crowded roads and city traffic can be daunting for most people, but for a person with low or no vision this can be even more challenging. Many sighted people tend to ignore those pedestrians holding a white cane, not bothering to stop for them at pedestrian crossings, riding their motorbikes or cars past them at very close distances, and completely disregarding them in the midst of crowded traffic-filled roads. The Federation is urging the public to take the time to recognise the significance of the white cane, be aware of how they might be obstructing people with low vision or blindness on the roads, and to be mindful of opportunities where they can assist a person holding a white cane.