A New View Of The Visually Impaired

Primary 4 students from St Bonaventure Catholic Primary School recently threw a party for more than 20 visually-impaired people. To ensure their guests could fully enjoy the festivities, the youngsters spent months learning to write Braille, practised sighted guide techniques and studied audio description.

The school has a tradition of inviting disabled or underprivileged residents to join in special events. Its principal hopes students will keep reaching out to those in need so they can grow up to be kind and upstanding citizens.

Party preparation

To practise sighted guide technique, more than 10 students wearing eye masks paired up with a classmate to walk from Pentecostal Holiness Church Ling Kwong Bradbury Centre for the Blind back to their school.

During the seven-minute walk the pupils who covered their eyes simulated being visually impaired while the others acted as guides.

It was an enlightening experience for the youngsters, helping them understand how it feels to walk without being able to see and to rely on a guide.

Student Tse Ka-po took on the role as a visually-impaired person during the lesson. He felt very nervous wearing the mask.

"I could not see what was in front of me and it was scary. I accidentally bumped into a pillar. When I was using the stairs I was so afraid of tripping."

He said the activity boosted his confidence about being a good guide, as he learned what it felt like to be guided without sight.

New experience

To prepare for the special party the school organised weekly classes for the youngsters to learn the sighted guide technique, and lessons on writing Braille and audio description.

The students diligently honed their skills over two months to prepare for the big day.

They went to the centre for the blind and led the VIPs to their school.

Like most of his classmates, Tsang Wai-wai had never interacted with someone who was visually impaired before this event.

He guided Lo Wing-tsz from the centre to his school. He used a gentle but confident tone to lead Ms Lo along the route and alert her to any obstacles.

"I told her a pillar was next to her and a ditch was nearby, to prevent her from falling down."

Ms Lo said Wai-wai was a wonderful guide.

"He explained everything clearly. I gave him 98 marks."

Heartfelt celebration

After the guests settled in the school hall, the party kicked off with a lucky draw.

The tickets were inscribed with both numbers and Braille, and the partygoers were surprised when they discovered the Braille was written by the students.

After all the prizes were claimed, it was movie time.

Ryan Chan was in charge of narrating the audio description of the 20-minute documentary. He and his classmates wrote a script and practised for months to perfect their audio description of the documentary.

"The most difficult thing is time control. I have to narrate when there are pauses but I cannot speak for too long or there will be an overlap with the dialogue in the video."

The attendees said they could feel and hear the outpouring of enthusiasm from their young hosts.

Lee Kwai-fan was moved by the students' efforts to ensure their guests enjoyed the film.

"I am so touched. I can feel their sincerity and they are well-prepared. They spoke so clearly. They are like angels."

Li Kwai-ho was also impressed by how hard the students worked to cater to their guests.

"I am so happy I went to this party. It is better than any gift. I never thought young kids could do all this for us, especially the audio description. I have listened to some done by adults, but never kids. They are amazing.

"The best thing is, they accept us. They have learned how to treat and help people that are visually impaired."

Building character

School principal Cheung Wai-ching said it was an extremely meaningful experience for the students and teachers.

"We always teach the students to be loving, caring and kind. But we never knew if they understood how to apply these values in real life.

"This was an opportunity for them to put things into practice and for us to see if the seed we planted in their hearts blossomed. The students have also learned to treasure what we have."

Ms Cheung says the school will continue to organise special events, to help students cultivate a sense of compassion for those who are disadvantaged or in need.