• Editorial
• What's On
• YBCV - The Ins & Outs
• BCA Developments
• Victorian State Election - Electronic Voting
• Victoria's Youth Website is Roving for Reporters
• Exam Survival - Dos and Don'ts
• New Service Helps Patients Manage Vision Loss
• Research: 'Scientists seek to restore sight' and 'Research leads to eye treatment'
• Your Choices
• Sport Mad
  Features: Paralympic Talent Search, A look behind Blind Cricket and Make a Splash
• Tech Savvy
• Entertainment
  Features: Accessible Podcasts, And audiobooks?, More radio stations than you can handle.. and Audio Description: The Scoop
• Perspective
• Signing off

The screen reader can be accessed at http://www.kulgan.net/nvda/. To provide feedback on the screen reader, please email mick@kulgan.net

BCA encourages parents to read this document and to pass it on to their children's health care professionals. The more the health profession knows about the issues confronting people who are blind or vision impaired when accessing health services, the better the chances things will improve.

BCA has recently published a self-advocacy document aimed to inform people who are blind or vision impaired on how to self-advocate on issues relating to public access. The contents of the document includes: Access to public places - What are my rights?, Obstructions - Dangerous things in public places, Building better streets - Asking for changes to make the streets safer and how to make a complaint with an anti-discrimination body. The document also contains hypothetical case studies, sample advocacy letters and letter writing tips.

The plain text HTML version of Safer Streets is located on the National Policy Page under section 6. Access to Transport, Travel and the Built Environment. There is a link on the HTML version to download a large print copy of the document. The principal author of this document is BCA policy volunteer, Leah Hobson. We would like to sincerely thank her for her hard work with this document. For copies of Safer Streets in other accessible formats, please contact BCA head office.

BCA has compiled a simple DSP Blind Q&A Sheet that covers the major issues to do with the pension. These issues include the rates of DSP Blind, eligibility criteria, implications of overseas travel and matters to consider at retirement age. Please note that this Q&A is only a guide. BCA recommends that you contact Centrelink on the numbers contained to ensure that the information contained in this paper has not changed. This is available from: A copy of this document is available on our website: www.bca.org.au/natpol/#Welfare_DSP_Blind. Alternatively, you can call head office on 1800 033 660 to request a copy by post.

BCA asserts that blind and vision impaired citizens should have access to an independent, secret and verifiable vote at all Federal, State and Council elections. In January 2005 BCA made a submission to the Victorian Parliament's Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee Inquiry into Electronic Democracy advocating for Electronic Assisted Voting (EAV) to enhance democracy for people who are blind or vision impaired. We were pleased to hear in July 2006 that electronic voting will be trialled at the upcoming State election in November.

Source: http://www.vec.vic.gov.au/electronicvoting.html Last accessed Oct 27, 2006

Editor's Note: Following on from 'BCA developments' this article explains the process of electronic voting in more detail.

If you are vision impaired and unable to vote independently, you can vote electronically at an E Centre. You can vote electronically on election day (Saturday, 25 November) or you can vote before election day from Monday, 13 November. Electronic voting is only available for people with vision impairment who are unable to vote independently.

In 2005, the Victorian Parliament's Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee concluded an inquiry into electronic democracy. This included electronic voting. The VEC made a submission to the Committee, suggesting the introduction of a pilot of electronic voting kiosks to enable secret voting for people with vision impairment, motor impairment or low proficiency in English.

Legislation to allow electronic voting was passed by Parliament in July 2006. The Electoral and Parliamentary Committees Legislation (Amendment) Act 2006 restricts electronic voting to voters "who because of a visual impairment cannot otherwise vote without assistance."

Voting electronically involves using a computer with a touch-screen, keypad and headphones. If you choose to use headphones, voting instructions and options are read to you. You can also choose to have instructions and candidate options displayed in large text or small text, and with white text on a black background or black text on a white background. An election official can set these options for you or you can choose them for yourself.

In place of a ballot paper, you receive an "electorate card." The electorate card is encoded with your electorate details, along with any display and audio options you request when your name is marked off the roll. No personal details are recorded. There is no way to identify a voter through an electronically cast vote.

Take your card to a voting kiosk and insert it into a reader to the left of the monitor. This activates the process and ensures that the correct ballot papers appear on the screen.

Follow the instructions to navigate through the screens and cast your vote. The computer will first provide instructions on how to use it, along with options to change display and audio options.

1. Select candidates in your order of preference for the Lower House then the Upper House
2. Review and then verify your selections for the Lower House and Upper House as they are presented back to you
3. Cast your vote after you have verified your selections

After you cast your vote, remove your electorate card and return it to an election official.

After the election closes at 6.00pm on Saturday 25 November, your ballot papers are printed by the VEC and included in the count.

Electronic voting is entirely voluntary. You can quit the system and ask for paper ballots at any time before you cast your vote electronically. If you quit the system, you must return your electorate card to an election official.

Hewlett-Packard, in partnership with Scytl Secure Electronic Voting, designed the software for electronic voting. The system includes a number of security features to ensure that your vote is accurately recorded and stored safely. These include:

• Recording your votes in two different places in the computer - on the hard disk and on a USB key.
• An independent software module that reads your vote back to you during the verification step, so that you can double-check the vote.
• Voting computers enclosed in sealed, transparent cases to prevent and detect unauthorised access to the computer.
• No connection to any network, making it impossible to access voting computers via the internet.
• An uninterruptible power supply that allows the kiosks to operate for at least half an hour in the event of a power failure. This allows voters who have started voting to complete their vote. Votes already cast will not be affected by a power failure.

Only authorised VEC staff are able to view votes. This can only happen at the end of the election and must involve at least two election officials present together.

The VEC is piloting electronic voting at six E Centres around Victoria at this November's election (All E Centres are fully wheelchair accessible). The VEC will seek feedback from users after the trial to assess its use. These centres are located at:

Ballarat - Vision Australia, 1300 Howitt Street, Wendouree

Heidelberg - Olympic Leisure Centre, 15 Alamein Road, Heidelberg West

Kooyong - Vision Australia, 454 Glenferrie Road, Kooyong

Melbourne CBD - Melbourne Town Hall, Cnr Collins & Swanston Streets

Shepparton - Vision Australia, Cnr Archer Street and Channel Road, Shepparton

Warragul - Vision Australia, 2A Mouritz Street, Warragul

Early voting hours of operation:
Monday, 13 November to Friday, 24 November (weekdays) 8.30am to 6.00pm
Saturday, 18 November 9.00am to 2.00pm
Thursday, 23 November 8.30am to 8.00pm

Saturday, 25 November 8.00am to 6.00pm

Assistance is also available to enable you to vote if you do not wish to vote electronically. The VEC has been working with disability groups and culturally and linguistically diverse groups to make voting centres as accessible as possible.

Any election official can help you on election day. Those wearing a maroon vest with an"i" are best able to provide assistance. An election official can also assist you to complete your ballot paper, or you may feel more comfortable asking someone you know to help. The person assisting is to help you complete the ballot paper in accordance with your wishes.

Every voting centre has magnifiers and maxi pencils to help. If you would like one of these, just ask an election official.

State election hotline: 13 VOTE (13 86 83)

State election website: www.13vote.com.au

Source: www.youthcentral.vic.gov.au

Youthcentral is looking for enthusiastic and active young people from across Victoria to join their Roving Reporter Team.

Do you want to develop your writing skills and expand your published portfolio? youthcentral, the Victorian Government's online youth initiative, can help you gain industry experience in writing, editing, research, IT and multimedia which could assist you with further study or career opportunities!

Being a Roving Reporter provides you with the opportunity to:
-Produce local and general news stories,
-Interview young people from across the state,
-Create podcasts for the site, and
-Review new music, movies, books and games.

The Roving Reporter positions, open to people aged 16 to 25, are for a term of six months starting in December 2006. During this time you will be required to:

• Attend a two-day writing and training workshop in Melbourne in December, 2006,
• Submit at least one article or review each month,
• Participate in online consultations.

TO APPLY: Email your name, postcode, date of birth and a short sample (max 400 words) of your writing to youthwebsite@dvc.vic.gov.au by November 10, 2006.

MORE INFO: Visit www.youthcentral.vic.gov.au/join or contact Vivienne Browne or Nigel Preston on 9655 6055.

youthcentral is the Victorian Government's website for young people aged 12 to 25. It includes information about jobs & careers, services & events in your local areas, study, travel, money and more.

Source: Adapted from Youth Central, written by Sophie, last accessed 2 Nov, 2006 URL: www.youthcentral.vic.gov.au

Settle down kids, it might be exam time but there is no real cause for alarm. While it is unlikely that you will look back on those weeks of swatting with great fondness, exam time is totally survivable and you will get through it.

In my student career so far I have sat somewhere between 40 and 50 exams. I have lived to tell the tale as well as compile the following list of study dos and don'ts. Here's some tips to help you achieve more and freak out less as you prepare for your exams:

Studious people in silent study areas have freakishly sensitive ears, however, and they will glare at you or kick you under the table if you so much as breathe too loudly. You are likely to end up studying out of either fear or sheer boredom. There is only one real distraction at the library - books. Try to sit in a subject area where the books are either thoroughly dull or incomprehensible. I recommend the foreign language and pure maths sections.

If you decide to give this particularly nerdy study tip a shot, make sure you destroy the tape after the exam. It is a special kind of embarrassment when you are in the car with a whole group of people and someone accidentally puts your study tape in the cassette player. Oh how they will laugh as you solemnly drone through line upon line of Tennessee Williams!

URL:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/5168862.stm

Pioneering work to tackle two common forms of blindness is being undertaken by University of Glasgow scientists.

Dr Keith Mathieson hopes an electronic optical implant will help blind people to regain their vision. Technology similar to that found in devices like digital cameras could be in use within a decade. Dr Mathieson said: "By implanting a device into the eye, we hope we will be able to fool the brain into believing the retina is still in working order."

The chip would assist about one million people in the UK with age-related macular degeneration or retinitis pigmentosa.

'Recognise faces'

Dr Mathieson said: "Advances in microelectronics have allowed us to develop a small device to be implanted on the retina itself. "The device would contain an imaging detector. "If light forms an image on the detector, then the result will be electrical stimulation of the retina in the shape of this image. "The stimulated cells then send the information via the optic nerve to the brain."

The implant prototype has 100 pixels but the team hope that number will increase significantly as their work progresses. Dr Mathieson, said: "Around 500 pixels would allow people to walk down the street and recognise faces. "Beyond where we are today it might be possible to make smart chips which have memory in them which would allow action replay and slow motion."

Groundbreaking new Melbourne research could save the eyesight of the thousands of Australians needing a corneal transplant.

Health Minister Bronwyn Pike said the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital had attracted German doctor Christine Wittig to Melbourne to test and trial a revolutionary treatment for the degenerative eye disease kerataconus.

'Kerataconus is a debilitating eye condition affecting about 10,000 Australians every year, eventually leading to blindness. Until now, the only way to overcome it was through a corneal transplant.

'This new research trial involves applying riboflavin (B2) into the eye and photo-sensitising it with UVA light to strengthen the cornea and stop it from bulging out of shape.

'Doctor Wittig and her team are confident that this technique could be performed in a clinical setting as early as Easter next year, giving patients a quicker, less-costly treatment for their eyesight with fewer side effects.'

Ms Pike said that while transplants were highly successful, they might be rejected by the body, need constant eye-care and face possible wear-out, meaning another transplant.

'Dr Wittig's revolutionary treatment could save patients significant time, money and further eyesight problems.

'This new technique will also take pressure off the RVEEH corneal bank and allow donated corneas to be used for treating other conditions or eye injuries.'

Ms Pike said across Australia only kidney transplants were in more demand than corneal transplants with the RVEEH performing around 150 per year, making it the busiest transplant hospital in Australasia.

Dr Wittig is conducting the trial at RVEEH over the next year, in part thanks to a $15,000 sponsorship from the hospital.

'I am confident this trial will see a new, fast and inexpensive option that will be a long-term alternative for saving the eyesight of kerataconus sufferers.

'By strengthening the eye using riboflavin, we will be fixing the core problem, rather than just replacing what doesn't work.'

This brochure is available as a large print file or mp3 file and is available to download from the ESC website http://www.esc.vic.gov.au/public/For+Consumers/Energy/Choosing+a+retailer/

An audio copy, as well the large print or mp3 file are available by calling the ESC on 1300 134 575, who are also able to answer any other questions you may have.

Editor's note: Thanks to Vision Australia for this information.

The Prospectus for the Telstra T3 offer is now available in accessible formats, including Braille, large print and on audio CDs. If you wish to obtain a copy of the Prospectus in any of these formats, please call the T3 Telephone Information Centre on 1800 18 18 18.

The Prospectus can also be viewed via the website, in HTML, large print or Rich Text File, visit www.t3shareoffer.com.au. You will need to enter your country of residence, and then your state and postcode and agree to terms and conditions of accessing the site. The link to accessible information is third from the bottom on the menu at the left of the page. The website is accessible to people using adaptive technologies.

The Talent Search Program is a new initiative of the Australian Paralympic Committee (APC) (http://www.paralympic.org.au). Its main aim is to identify people with physical disabilities, vision impairments or intellectual disability who display the athletic potential to one day, make it to Paralympic level competition.

The Talent Identification Day is open to people with cerebral palsy, limb deficiencies, people in wheelchairs, people with a vision impairment to name a few. The age group that is being targeted is 12 years and above.

A 2005/06 calendar incorporating 37 Talent Search Days across all states and territories of Australia has been developed.

Each Talent Search Day involves a series of testing including general measurements as well as sport specific tests. Head coaches from the targeted sports are involved in the testing process and are ultimately the "talent spotters".

Identified participants are grouped in two tiers - Tier 1 include those targeted for 2008, and Tier - 2 for the 2012. The program aims to identify 150 potential Paralympians by the end of 2006. This is the first step in the process of identifying people with disabilities who can display the potential to make a future Australian Paralympic team. In most cases it will take years of training and preparation to reach the standards required to compete at a Paralympic level.

People who are identified as showing potential will be encouraged to take the next step in their sporting endeavours, which will vary from sport to sport and person to person.

Victoria's Talent Search Days are as follows:
11 November 2006 - Warrnambool (Western)
9 December 2006 - Moe/Morwell (Latrobe Valley)

For more details contact Tim Matthews on (03) 9614 6800 or email tim.matthews@paralympic.org.au

Written by Nick Pepper, Secretary, Victoria Blind Cricket Association

Editor's Note: Blind cricket is finally receiving the recognition it deserves with a chapter included in Max Walker's new book titled "Caps, Hats and Helmets: Cricket's a Funny Game", published by Tangle Press. Also, best wishes are extended to the 16 Aussies (seven Victorians) who will be representing Australia in Blind Cricket World Cup in Islamabad, Pakistan from the 1st - 17th December 2006. If you are interested in assisting the team, please contact Lindsay Heaven on 98570152.

The Victorian Blind Cricket Association (VBCA) is the home of blind cricket in Victoria, which was invented in Melbourne in 1922. The world's first sports ground and clubhouse for blind people was developed at Kooyong, Melbourne in 1928 and is still used today as the home of the VBCA.

Victoria has always provided one of the strongest domestic blind cricket competitions in Australia. The game of blind cricket is a version of the game which has been adapted so that it can be played by blind and partially blind players. A noticeable difference from traditional cricket is the ball which is made of plastic and contains bottle tops and lead weight to give the ball an audible sound when bowled or thrown.

There are varying categories of eyesight in each team, with some players being totally blind and others with varying levels of sight.

Blind cricket is played in several countries and there is the opportunity to participate in national and international tournaments if players aspire to pursue this level of the game. However, our primary focus is at a domestic level and for the enjoyment of all.

Matches are played from the first weekend in October until the Labour Day weekend in March and all matches are played at our venue at Kooyong behind the Vision Australia building on Saturday afternoons.

We currently have five teams who compete in a 10 round competition and we hope to bolster our playing membership to a point where a sixth team can be formed. Training clinics are held for all new players, with a junior development program run on Saturday mornings throughout summer.

Anybody interested in giving blind cricket a try should contact the Victorian Blind Cricket Association Secretary at secretary@vbca.org.au. More information, including a summary of rules, can be obtained by visiting www.vbca.org.au

Would you like to learn how to swim, swim for fitness, become involved with your local swimming club or swim competitively?

Swimming Victoria Inc. (SVI) is the peak body for competitive swimming in Victoria, offering assistance to Victorian clubs and coaches and for enthusiastic swimmers looking for a suitable program to make a splash!

SVI can provide information on how and where you can learn to swim, details of clubs and coaches where you can start your training, how you can be classified for participation in competitive swimming in Swimmers with a Disability (SWD) specific events, as well as advice and information for coaches in teaching swimming to people with disabilities.

For further information on how to make a splash at your local swimming club, contact Swimming Victoria on (03) 9686 5222 or email sv.admin@vic.swimming.org.au

Google Labs have introduced for test "Accessible Search" (http://labs.google.com/accessible/). This site has been designed to "identify and prioritize search results that are more easily usable by blind and visually impaired users. Whilst the regular Google search assists in finding documents that are most relevant, Accessible Search takes this further by locating the most accessible pages in the results displayed. This is done by looking at the HTML markup found on a webpage. For more information visit the FAQs at http://labs.google.com/accessible/faq.html

Source: Adapted from Quantum Technology media release, "A New Way of Reading with Dots", Oct 2006, written by Bronwyn Davies.

Jot-a-Dot is an exciting new concept in braille writing that uses modern design principles and fabrication methods to achieve a robust, small braille writing tool suitable for all blind people. Developed in Australia by specialist manufacturer Quantum Technology, it represents an investment in the future and importance of braille.

Jot a Dot is a truly portable device weighing in at just 350g (12 oz). It has a regular braille keyboard that has been designed to fit a wide variety of hand sizes, and incorporates excellent ergonomics.

Very young children can use it for scribbling before they begin formal education, as well as using it to jot down quick notes right through their school years. Many adults use Jot a Dot for the myriad of small notes that sighted people will jot down on a piece of paper, such as a phone number, reminder, or receipt number when paying bills over the phone.

Jot a Dot has been designed to withstand many different environments and it is hoped that it will also be useful in developing countries where braille writing options are often non-existent. For further information visit www.jotadot.com.

Quantum Technology have extended the deadline for applications for this year's JAWS scholarship, which is open to students who plan to undertake full-time university, TAFE or college studies in 2007 (2007 must be your first year at a tertiary institution). Open to Australian or New Zealand residents who are blind or vision impaired, Quantum would like to know (in 500 words or less) why you need a Freedom Scholarship and how it will assist you in your tertiary studies. There are 8 copies of JAWS Professional available to win, with once copy to be awarded per successful application.

Send your applications and enquiries by email to info@quantumtechnology.com.au or via mail to

Quantum Technology PO Box 390, Rydalmere NSW 2116 Australia.

Applications must be received by Friday 1 December 2006, and winners will be notified by e-mail and announced in the next edition of LiveWire.

Source: Adapted from AudioGames.net, August 05, 2006

Nintendo has developed 7 mini audio games that can be played on every GBA compatible platform, including the GameBoy Advanced, Gameboy Micro and Nintendo DS.

The games are to be sold under the name of Sound Voyager, which in turn is part of the Nintendo Bit Generations line of alternative games. Click the following link to read everything about Sound Voyager:

www.audiogames.net/db.php?action=view&id=SoundVoyager

And for those who would like to make their own...

Source: http://audiogames.net/ Last accessed 15.09.06

The Bartiméus Accessibility Foundation has announced the development of Audio Game Maker, an application which enables visually impaired people to make their own computer games. A first prototype of the application is scheduled to be released in February of 2007.

Audio Game Maker aims to increase the number of computer games for the visually impaired, since very few accessible computer games exist. Many visually impaired players want to create their own games but give up when confronted with programming difficulties and other technical issues. Creative players manage to modify existing games with their own recorded sounds in order to make 'new' games. Despite these efforts, there is a huge demand for an accessible tool that enables visually impaired people to make computer games.

Audio Game Maker aims to be a solution for this problem by offering a simple and accessible game building environment. Audio Game Maker is part of project Game Accessibility, a series of activities conducted by the Bartiméus Accessibility foundation in order to improve the accessibility of computer games for players with impairments. Accessibility has been researching the accessibility of computer games over the past few years, and participated in the development of two games for the blind: Drive, an audio racing game, and Demor, a location-based audio-augmented reality game.

Please submit your suggestions, wishes and recommendations at the Audio Game Maker forum (Game-Accessibility website).

Source: Adapted from Department of Human Services, Human Service News, Vol 5, No. 6, July 2006, p. 11

A new website provides information and links to all Victorian Government services for young people aged between 10 and 18.

Developed by the Office for Children, the Youth Services website (www.dhs.vic.gov.au/youthservices) also provides a section for Department of Human Services-specific youth services. Site features include:

• Summaries of programs coordinated by Youth Services, such as Adolescent Support, the Refugee Minor Program, School Focused Youth Service (SFYS) and Secondary School Nursing Program (SSNP);
• Service directory and contact details for many government and non-government services for young people;
• Professional development resources and an opportunities page including links to events and training opportunities for professionals working with young people;
• Publications page including recent research about young people, program guidelines and program evaluations;
• Summaries of Department of Human Services' programs and links for other Department divisions that provide services for young people.

If Australiana is your thing, you can't go past the website www.australianpodcasts.com.au, which provides an interesting and accessible range of podcasts such as IHistory which combines mp3 players, podcasts and a local history trail to engage students in Australian History, The Vinyl Lounge which involve crazy Australian comedy and "Seeking Illuminations" which focuses on politics and social justice as well as many more. Worth a look...and hear!

Librivox (http://librivox.org/) is a rare thing in the public domain - an experiment that was started for the benefit of a 10 year old boy and despite its massive growth and appeal remains accessible and most importantly, free! The site includes downloads of books, short works and collections and poetry that no are no longer subject to copyright law. Chapters of books are read by dedicated volunteers from all over the world, with volunteers always welcomed. If you are interested in giving a hand or would like to browse their selection, visit http://librivox.org/

With over 3000 radio stations available for your listening pleasure, Mike's Radio World may well be for you. The site provides links to stations that cater for the tastes of die-hard 80's music fans, adult contemporary, nostalgia and even Christmas music! For more information visit: http://www.mikesradioworld.com/

Source: Media Access Australia, Audio Description Online, September 2006 www.mediaaccess.org.au/audiodescription/c.aspx?id=63

You may have heard that audio description is available on various DVD movie titles. The audio description option can be found in the language specifications on the back of the DVD and can be listed as "English for the vision impaired", "Audio Described for the Vision impaired", "Descriptive Video", "Audio Description" or "English descriptive audio". The audio description can be switched on from a sub-menu, usually Language, Sound or Setup.

Some work is being done in the UK to develop self-voicing menus for DVDs, which should have a flow-on effect in Australia.

There is currently a very low percentage of audio described DVDs released in Australia. Media Access Australia has been in contact with the Australian Visual Software Distributors Association, to recommend that where AD files exist for a movie, that the track is incorporated on the Australian release.

You can help by writing to the distributors of your favourite movies and urging them to incorporate AD tracks. Once a DVD is released it's usually too late to incorporate the track, but the distributor may decide to release future products with AD.

There is a list of audio described movies available on DVD in Australia on our website at www.audiodescription.com.au. Narrative Television Network's website also has 50 classic movies with AD downloadable for free (www.narrativetv.com/). If you know of any other titles which are audio described we would love to hear about them. Email us at info@mediaaccess.org.au or call 02 9212 6242.

(Adapted from ThisDay Online, Nigeria, Tuesday, September 12, 2006, written by Wiliams Afolabi Ojo. Source: Blind World Magazine http://www.home.earthlink.net/~blindworld/)

One of the ethnic groups in West Africa, the Wolof, say that when you see a turtle on top of a fence post, you know he had some help. Dr. Bitrus Bani-Ikilama, is one proverbial turtle, who having been helped to the top of a fence post, has worked hard all his life to ensure that other turtles are helped in a similar fashion. He was not born blind, but was blinded by measles at childhood. He could have lost all hope of becoming a useful vessel in society.

But, a man, Dawuda who he still talks about fondly and whose black and white photograph adorns his sitting room in Zaria, restored hope in his life. He helped in financing his schooling. That helped change the life of the young Bitrus and gave him a vision. After graduating abroad in 1967, he became the first Nigerian physiotherapist who is blind. He went on to actualise his vision six years after graduating and returning to Nigeria. That actualisation is now 30 years old; it is called Hope for the Blind Foundation, based in Wusasa, Zaria. The Foundation, which was started with N20 now provides a massive and amazing support for people who are blind across Nigeria.

The Foundation has built a reputation for delivering crucial support and services to persons who have gone blind and their families. These services include Braille transcription and library, counselling, books on cassette, orientation and mobility training, craft skills training, scholarships, training and research through Hope Institute of Development and Research, and provision of medical and social care. The mission statement of the Foundation is: 'To be a circle of support around blind people, assisting them through service provision and training that will help them to be dignified, independent contributors to society.'

"I am a big dreamer," says Gani-Ikilama, the chairman of the foundation. When asked what motivated him to start the foundation, the genial man replied that that is self-evident. "I was motivated by blindness. When I returned from Lagos to Zaria in the 1970s, my friends who were blind who grew up together with me asked me what I could do for them, because given my own education and exposure government would listen to me. Even though I knew that government did not listen to anyone, I wrote to the government on what could be done. They never replied. I thought hard and then arrived at this: We Can Give Hope. That is how we started by giving hope to people who are blind. I was hoping, however, that government will wake up. But, in 30 years, government has not even taken notice of us. President Obasanjo is my friend. He has invited me and we have chatted, but I don't think he too has taken notice."

But, while government may not have "taken notice" in the sense of assisting in this awesome task of helping the visually-impaired, it has taken notice of Bitrus Gani-Ikilama's service to humanity. Obasanjo recognised him in 2002 as an Icon of Hope and later honoured him with the award of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON).

"People who are blind are not blind people", says his son, Andrew Gani-Ikilama, who is now taking charge of the foundation. Andrew, who not visually impaired, took over from his father as the executive director of the foundation in 2001. Already his youthful dynamism has led to the creation of Hope Institute of Development and Research, which is a training, consulting and research arm of Hope for the Blind Foundation. The Institute has a partnership with Kansas Wesleyan University, Kansa, USA.

For the laudable activities and immense contributions of the father and son to humanity, through their care for those who are blind, the Gani-Ikilamas were nominated by people as positive leaders in the Alternative Who is Who that will be released soon by the Centre for Social Science Research and Development (CSSRD) headed by Professor Bayo Olukoshi.

The story of Hauwa Ishaya is a key index of the wonderful work that the foundation is rendering. Hauwa was born blind and never went to school. Her father threw her mother out of their home with Hauwa and her brother, who were both born blind. At 11 in 2005, she was introduced to Dr. Gani-Ikilama. Within a few weeks the foundation found a place for her in a school for children who are blind. Hauwa's performance in school shows what a terrible waste it would have been if she was not helped by the foundation. In her last exam, she led her class. The foundation spends an average of N50, 000 per year on each pupil/student under it's care, with 35 such pupils currently all over the country. The foundation therefore calls on charitable Nigerians to adopt a pupil and pay the annual expenses. For such charity, the adoptee receives the academic report of the student and other news on the 'star child'.

"We don't have charity in this country", laments Dr. Andrew Gani-Ikilama. "What we have in terms of charity is so small, and we don't even promote that. We don't encourage it. I hope others will wake up like we did and do something for the communities. Government will not do it."

An ophthalmologist from the US who is a friend of the Hope for Blind Foundation regularly comes to Nigeria to perform free eye tests and treatments, including surgery, with approximately 370 people have been treated this year. Apart from this form of volunteering, the foundation gets funding from churches in Nigeria and Torch Trust in the UK. But, such assistance is usually too small for the task of the foundation.

"What I have done speaks for itself", says the energetic former ABU don. "We have helped people who are blind to go to school, get employment and get into society. But the government is not even willing to duplicate what I have done. The governments of Rivers, Benue and Gongola States invited me in the past to talk to them on what needed to be done, but nothing came out of all that. I have lost faith in government."

CSSRD, the organisation that organised such positive leaders as the Gani-Ikilamas, is an independent social science research organisation based in Ikorodu, Lagos. It is involved in a project funded by the Ford Foundation as part of a worldwide initiative that seeks to build knowledge on, promote and recognize new leaders in various communities whose work and personal example have contributed to positive social change but do not yet command national attention.