Saturday, November 7, 2009 . The DiD Experience for me!
10:57 PM

After the talk by Mrs Choo during our Enterprise Creation and Development lecture, i was more excited to experience what Dialogue in the Dark was all about. All along for the past few months, i always get to hear what Dialogue in the Dark is, but do not actually get the chance to experience it myself.

4 November 2009,
it would be one of the most memorable days of my life. that was the day which i got to experience the whole DiD tour. Before reaching school that day, thoughts ran through my head thinking about what the whole tour was going to be like. Like what many would expect, i was thinking what would happen throughout the tour, i was expecting firstly, to be completely blind during the tour, to be in complete darkness for once, to be guided by a experienced visually impaired guide, to be finding my way around the places in the tour with a cane. And also, one other thought that came through my mind was, how could the tour last for 1 whole hour.

True as it is, my experience in DiD was really beyond words. i really did enjoy myself throughout the whole tour, being blind myself. And even though 1 hour may seem like a long time to all of us, the tour of 1 hour passed by quickly. The guide for our group is Jason, he was very confident in guiding us, and also open in sharing his whole experience with us. Jason was not born visually impaired, but he slowly lost his sense of sight in the later part of his twenties. Like all, it would be hard to accept, but Jason embraced the fact. Jason actually got to be a guide through introductions from the Singapore Association for Visually Handicapped.
To be qualified to be a guide for DiD, Jason had came a long way through interviews and training sessions to bring him to what he is doing now. (:

Before the whole tour, we played games as a group, getting to sharpen our senses.
using our sense of hearing, touch, and taste. it was interesting expecially during the actuvity that we were all told to eat a sweet and guessed what the flavour was, i got mine wrong. i mistook honeydew for pineapple. In another activity, we were told to form up words using the sense of touch, to figure out the letters we were holding on and to form a word together.

All in all, the orientation for DiD and the DiD tour itself was an eye opening experience for me.
when we were first given the cane and being brought into the dark, i was honestly quite afraid as i had never felp so helpless before, to be in a whole new area without my sight to guide me around. I relied alot using the cane and the walls, and definitely the great guidance of our guide, Jason. The presence of Jason gave me a whole new sense of security as he was the only one we could rely on to helping us get around the area. Jason was very friendly and welcomed us warmly, he mingled with us and ensured that all of us were always safe and keeping up. (:

To me, i feel that the greatest take away from DiD tour experience would be that, i get to experience life in a whole new light, and learn to appreciate everything around me especially my sense of sight and to learn that everyone is equal and useful. In the DiD tour, without my sense of sight, it was really hard for me to adapt, why? cause everything seems so easy with sight, and when i get to see everyday, i would tend to take it for granted. Thats what most people do, we do not appreciate what we have until we have experienced losing it. Also, in our everyday lives, we have never give a real thought about how life would be if we were visually handicapped, throught DiD, it really let us experience the blindness for ourselves. To try living the lives like the visually handicapped here in Singapore.
During the tour, we went through many many different places to experience different landmarks in Singapore itself and also get to walk in places we walk by everyday, but, without the sense of sight. It was very real for me, to walk around without being able to see, going through the frequent places, yet finding it so unfamiliar.

To me, I feel that Dialogue in the Dark Singapore would set out as an inspiring enterprise, to show and let people experience life in a new light. To appreciate the visually impaired and learn that even the visually impaired can be very useful too. Like what they say, in the world of sight, the visually impaired needs our help, but in the world without sight, we need the help of the visually impaired to help guide us around.

DiD would set out as a good learning platform for both BZSE and PCS. For both courses, we would like to help the underpriviledged and get to experience how is life for them. To not be sympathetic but to be empathetic, to feel how is it like to be like them. DiD would help teach us to experience and feel to be in the positions of the underpriviledged itself. DiD itself is a very unique form of enterprising. By hiring the visually impaired to be trained to be experienced guide, it gives the guides a form of hope, to be actually guiding others rather than being guided, it would let them feel useful and empowered. To be able to guide others, many visually impaired would think that it is a ridiculous idea, like how would that be actually be possible, but here in DiD, they really get the chance to do so. As such, to be useful, many would feel more encouraged and inspired to live life to the fullest.

Like what many lecturers and Mrs Chew had mentioned, DiD Singapore in Ngee Ann, it is the only permanent sight built here in South-East Asia, she had fought really hard in bringing DiD here into Singapore, into the campus of our school, Ngee Ann Polytechnic. DiD would allow both BZE and PCS students to learn how does an enterprise is set up, how it functions and how to keep it running efficiently. BZSE students and PCS students can learn through our internship or voluntary services in DiD, we would get to experience for ourselves in running a social enterprise. it would be a real experience for us, something that can't be learnt in the classroom.

I believe that everyone can help do a part in contributing to DiD, for us. I believe that we, BZSE students, we can help promote DiD and market it. To spread the news about DiD Singapore, to share our experience to others and of course help out as a volunteer in DiD.

I never regretted walking through this 1 hour DiD tour.
and to all who are considering in walking the tour, fret not. it will be a great eye opener for you and I'm sure u will not regret it (:

Done by,
Bernice Lim - T01


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