Blindness is both health and social problem in Nepal. There are very little or no social security programs for blind people. Blindness is seen as a completely dependent difficulty, the person is taken as a liability than some with physically challenged but equally productive being. In fact, in most part of the rural Nepal, blindness is still seen as a curse resulting from the sins of the previous life.
The urban areas, especially the Kathmandu Valley, have some support programs for the visually impaired people. There is one National Organization for the visually impaired and some other I/NGO run centers that help the blind people by providing skills and tools for coping with their difficulty.
These days there seems to beginning a change of perception in Nepal, too, that the blind people like most other people with physical difficulties are not completely disabled but are “differently abled”.
What people need to understand is that there is a difference between being physically challenged and being sick? A physically challenged person may be as healthy as a normal person.
You role as a volunteer would contribute a lot not only in helping the differently challenged people including the blind people, but also in changing the perception about disability and life skills.
