Work for the visually impaired
school placement. Some of her clients are minors who attend mainstream schools, even though they are not always equipped to accommodate them.
“With mainstream school, it’s about accessibility. If they were accessible to people with visual impairment or other disabilities, I think our clients would go far… But a lot of the time they’re pushed aside or sent to special-needs schools. We have clients who go through mainstream schools and they become visually impaired close to matric and they say, well we can’t accommodate you,” says Teles.
South Africa has 22 schools for the blind, many of which are under-resourced, so Teles fights for her clients to remain in mainstream schools.
“Most schools don’t allow smartphones in class but we say [pupils who are visually impaired] need it. We say use your phone, record the lesson, use your phone as a magnifier,” says Teles. “We have students in Grade 11 who are going to go to matric and they have low vision and we beg the schools, don’t move them anywhere else, let them stay and we can guide them.”
Low vision is the loss of vision that cannot be corrected with spectacles, contact lenses or surgery. The on-site optometrist works with occupational therapist Shaakirah Karjieker, and together they find affordable solutions for people with low vision.
From the humble magnifying glass to a video magnifier, Karjieker says each client’s needs are different. Their favourite device at the moment is Pad Perch by local designer Jenny Webster, which provides a hands-free structure for users while using their devices as a magnifier.
According to the World Health Organization, 2.2 billion people globally have vision impairment caused by cataract, age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma, and half of these can be prevented. For others with low vision that cannot be improved medically, digital devices and learning Braille are a must.
“People don’t understand the importance of Braille. Just because of technology that’s been taking over. You can get books in Braille. If you are in a meeting you can get notes in Braille and follow the agenda. It’s still very useful,” says Avril Davids (60).
When went to visit, Davids was teaching Nadeer Marthinius (50), who was typing out different letters of the Braille alphabet to practise. Davids has taught Braille for the past 15 years, starting off at the League of Friends of the Blind in Grassy Park before moving to CTSB. She says a fast learner putting in eight hours a day can smash the Braille syllabus in three months, whereas an average learner can take up to six months to learn the tactile writing system.
She learnt Braille in her mid-20s after she went for a routine eye test and the optometrist says Davids.
“You can walk into any work as a blind person,” says Andre Timotheus (49), who is an artisan. “At the time I became blind, I thought [there was] nothing in life for me [and that I could] go nowhere, but the day I stood up and pulled myself together and looked at the road ahead, everything [became easy for me].”
Janneke Conradie from Loxtonia Cider, a cider company based in Ceres, says her company uses some of the picnic baskets made at CTSB in their tasting rooms on the farm. “We’ve always received very good work from them and we’ve ordered through them for the past two years. It’s always good to support them,” she says.
Another high-profile client, Joshua Crowe from the Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa, says the workmanship of their hand-woven baskets used in the hotel rooms, picnic and pool areas is of the highest quality.
“We strive to work with as many local companies as possible and assist in the skills development of all South Africans,” says Crowe.
“To come to work every day is such a privilege, because there are other people who are fine, there’s nothing wrong with them, and they sit [at home].
“But for us, who are blind, we put in the effort to come to work,” says Wilemse, Volt lying at his side. “Even if you are unhappy at home, you come to work and that’s gone because we are one big family here,” he says.