/ 10 November 2005

Opening Windows for the visually impaired

At first glance, the computer room at Optima College looks like any other computer room at schools around the country. Young adult learners sit in front of a row of computers with standard keyboards. Their teacher, Deena Moodley, moves attentively between them, clarifying questions. But something is different -

At first glance, the computer room at Optima College looks like any other computer room at schools around the country. Young adult learners sit in front of a row of computers with standard keyboards. Their teacher, Deena Moodley, moves attentively between them, clarifying questions. But something is different —

None of the learners uses a mouse. They find their way around the screen with a system of sometimes non-documented keystrokes. And they’re not reading the screen in front of them. They’re listening. The computer is talking to them.

Moodley and his class are blind — like nearly 240 000 other South Africans. What are their prospects in a cash-strapped economy with a competitive job market?

The learners at Optima College are luckier than most of the country’s visually impaired people who lack the skills to function effectively in the technological world. Moodley is an access technology specialist and entrepreneur. As well as running micro computer literacy courses at Optima College, the South African Council for the Blind (SANCB) vocational training facility in Pretoria, he has recently opened his own company, Soft-Tron. He aims to open doors — or more specifically Windows — for the visually impaired, both locally and internationally.

Moodley uses a Microsoft program called Jaws — Job Access with Speech. It transforms a personal computer and a speech synthesiser into a talking computer system for people who are blind, making it possible for them to use regular computer software programs such as e-mail, web browsers, speadsheets and project management software.

‘Because I’m blind myself, I recognise specific difficulties they experience and have developed low-cost training courses that they can work on at home,” says Moodley, who also hopes to act as a consultant for large corporates actively pursuing inclusion as a business imperative. To justify the expense of the necessary software at the current exchange rate, they need to ensure that the programmes they install are accessible. ‘I tailor Jaws to work with their in-house programmes,” he explains.

A total of 74 blind learners have passed through Moodley’s course to date, at a cost of R15 500 per student. Some are sponsored by their companies, while others are assisted by the Department of Labour or the SANCB. ‘Some students have been promoted since doing the course or have started their own businesses,” says Moodley. ‘A local personnel company, D/@ability, specialises in placing disabled persons.”

Eugene Pierce, the regional manager for South African Blind Dogs Association in the Western Cape, completed the course in March 2002 and explains how the skills he mastered have transformed his life and job prospects. ‘I’m an able-bodied person now,” he enthuses. ‘It’s given me confidence and independence and I’m able to compete with the rest on an equal footing.

‘I became blind at the age of 27 as a result of glaucoma and had to depend on others for reading and writing. I can now type letters, read accounts and have access to the latest information on the Net.”

The rights of the visually impaired are protected by the South African Constitution. Moodley’s company could help to address the shortage of employment opportunities available for them. But it can only help a small percentage. Many do not have access to computers, particularly in rural areas — and although Jaws is multilingual, it’s Eurocentric, catering for only one of South Africa’s 11 official languages.

The state also hopes to make a contribution. Money has been allocated for the development of Braille codes to write all 11 languages in a contracted form that speeds up reading and cuts production costs. Inclusive education is official government policy. Designated schools and colleges will be provided with resources to transfer disabled learners out of special schools into mainstream education. Job opportunities have been created — according to the Employment Equity Act passed in 1999, any company with a staff of more than 50 people must employ people with disabilities.

These are laudable goals — but will they work? What hurdles must be overcome if they are to be successfully implemented?

  • Lack of training facilities and transport. Many visually impaired people are unemployable not because they are blind, but because their mobility impairment doesn’t allow them normal access to training and education.
  • Cosmetic change. Employing disabled people merely to make up numbers is counter-productive. No one wants to be employed only because he or she is blind. A quota system may be necessary to address the problems of the past but it produces as many problems among the visually impaired as it does in the national cricket team.
  • A change in attitude. Because they have been isolated in special schools, often away from the family support system, disabled people grow up feeling different and may lack the social skills needed in mainstream employment. And it’s unrealistic for a blind person to expect the same opportunities as the sighted in all fields — a successful company must aim to give customers the best service possible and a blind person may be physically unable to provide this.
  • The needs of the disabled tend to be overshadowed by the demands of race and gender equality. A corporate giant such as Standard Bank employs more than 30 000 people. Eleven are blind. The Employment Equity Report indicates that the bank is actively recruiting staff to reach its employment equity goals, but only four out of more than 2 000 new recruits are disabled. There’s a long way to go —

South Africa will host the General Assembly for the World Blind Union in Cape Town in 2006, as a feature event in the African Decade of Disabled Persons. Hopefully it will kick-start much-needed economic and empowerment prospects of visually impaired people in South Africa and the rest of the continent.