Visual Impairment. Most of us have heard the word through the stories of great men and women in history. Some experience it every day. They belong to diverse fields — literature, music, politics, sports, science, arts, and more. Their disability to see the world through the common organ of vision did not stop them from creating a meaningful life.
The ordinary gives the world existence, the extraordinary its value. The philosophical thought by Oscar Wilde has the most profound real-life implications. Life must be celebrating the people who overcome their disabilities every day and the ones who support them at every stage of life. The universe must be proud of its creation and the infinite possibilities discovered by such souls.
The International Classification of Diseases 11 (2018) classifies vision impairment into two groups, distance and near presenting vision impairment.
Distance vision impairment:
- Mild — presenting visual acuity worse than 6/12
- Moderate — presenting visual acuity worse than 6/18
- Severe — presenting visual acuity worse than 6/60
- Blindness — presenting visual acuity worse than 3/60
Near vision impairment:
- Presenting near visual acuity worse than N6 or M.08 with existing correction.
Betty Williams says, there’s no use talking about the problem unless you talk about the solution. There is no value to world development that is not all-inclusive. Even if no person in your life is visually impaired, educating yourself about disability is the first step to living responsibly.
There is an interesting treaty closely connected to vision loss. The Marrakesh Treaty makes the production and international transfer of specially-adapted books for people with visual impairments, easier. The Treaty was signed in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh on June 27, 2013, and came into force on September 30, 2016. India became the first country in the world that ratified this Treaty.
Much work related to this field is continually done. World Braille Day celebrated on Louis Braille’s birthday helps bring awareness regarding visual impairment, Braille literacy, Marrakesh Treaty, and more. The purpose is to provide equal opportunities to all — access to information and knowledge, and the comfort of living.
Louis Braille created the Braille System of touch reading and writing. This system is based on Charles Barbier’s night writing form known as ‘Ecriture Nocturne’. Later, many others contributed to solving many problems, and many continue to do so every day.
Every individual who decides to fight his problems by finding solutions adds excellent value to the world. People who are continuously supporting each other are making the world a better place, with solutions.
We, the people, with vision, need to broaden our perception of the world where we include every life and contribute to adding value to the world and justify its existence, beautifully.
