Sandra Wilson from Inverness backs RNIB’s “See the Person, Not the Sight Loss” campaign
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An Inverness woman who has been blind since birth is backing a nationwide campaign by charity RNIB to challenge outdated perceptions and give a voice to some of the hopes and frustrations of visually impaired people.
Sandra Wilson (74) said: “While people with sight loss are certainly more ‘visible’ than in past decades, they are still often viewed as wonders rather than just people going about their daily business.
“There is often a perception that people with sight loss can’t do the normal day-to-day tasks that most people take for granted.”
RNIB’s “See the Person, Not the Sight Loss” campaign was launched on World Sight Day last week with an emotive short film about Ava, a fictional teenage girl who is coming to terms with losing her sight.
The film shows the impact this has on many areas of her life, from education to relationships. Most crucially, it demonstrates how sight loss can impact on both mental and physical health.
With the help of RNIB, Ava’s friends, family and teachers offer their support, while an RNIB officer counsels her and Ava starts to find her feet again, accepting her condition and regaining confidence.
The film will run in cinemas, on television and online.
David Aldwinckle, director of insight and customer voice at RNIB, said: “As someone who’s lived with sight loss for 40 years myself, these findings really resonated with me emotionally. When people are diagnosed with sight loss, we know that they often experience a range of emotions including shock, anger and anxiety, and that these can be particularly acute for a young person.
“That’s one of the reasons why we’ve made it a core part of our mission to improve understanding of sight loss. At RNIB, blind and partially sighted people often tell us that they wish other people had a better understanding of what it means to be living with a vision impairment, and we know that by making sometimes small changes to their behaviour, people can help to create a more equitable world for anyone affected by sight loss.
“I’m excited by the launch of our important campaign and with the authenticity of our film, which captures the range of feelings that people go through – the fear, the sense of anxiety, the anger and denial. But really importantly it captures the fact that we also have desire, passion, ambition, skills, abilities, to live full lives and contribute to the world around us just like everybody else.”
The campaign has been supported by People’s Postcode Lottery through the Postcode Care Trust and other partners.
The film is available on You Tube.
