Saturday, November 7, 2009 . The blind leading us! :D
3:28 PM

After Mrs. Choo’s talk on DID, I was really excited to go and experience a different way of ‘looking’ at the exhibits. Knowing that it was new in Singapore, I had some doubts about the way they functioned and the types of exhibits they have. I was also wondering if it would live up to my expectations and I would want to come back again in future.

Upon entering DID, There was a total darkness which I did not really expect. The kind of darkness is something which I had not experienced before. I felt afraid as I was not able to see my surroundings. All I had was just a stick in my hands to ‘see’ the surroundings. At that moment, I felt weak and powerless. However, when I heard my tour guide speak, I felt a sense of security.

My tour guide, helemi, was a very friendly guide. He guided us into each room and made sure that none of us were left behind. He was a confident guide and always encouraged us to go and explore the exhibits by ourselves. He also explained clearly what we asked and aided us in understanding the place that we were in. He also shared his experiences of being a visually-impaired person such as how he managed to live his life just like a normal person. I felt he was a very optimistic person from his pleasant outlook on life which others might have felt were bleak and meaningless. This gave me a sure sense of respect and admiration of him.

Walking in the dark was not easy as I initially thought. I found that it requires a lot of courage. During the exhibition, I was really very excited when I felt something that I saw daily. I came to appreciate the gift of sight and realize that I had taken it for granted. I also felt that the exhibition was a place where the visually-impaired person actually comes to guide a ‘normal’ person. They may seem to be helpless in the real world, however, I saw that in the dark, they were really the ones who could navigate. After the tour, I was really amazed by how the visually-impaired person guided us throughout its duration.

Through the tour, I had numerous take-aways from the exhibition. I start to understand how a visually-impaired person felt in going through the day as well as the struggles that they faced. It was a really meaningful tour which am willing to go for again, and would highly recommend it to my friends.

I feel that BZSE can help DID to publicize so that, more visual-impaired individuals can be employed for such meaningful jobs. I also feel that this would give them more confidence in facing life and feel that life is more meaningful. BZSE can also help to organize more events so that more people will be aware of the visual-impaired.

Julinda :)

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