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Ms Phetsami is 22 years old and has been blind since the age of 2. Since 1996, (aged 7) she has been residing at a school for the blind in Laos. Members from our club attending the 2011 Vietnam Vision trip to perform cataract operations for the poor visited Laos this year and saw the school at which Phetsami resides. However, they did not know of Ms Phetsami until Colin Taylor – Evans contacted member Pat Murray to advise his plight to help Phetsami. Colin himself is visually impaired. He gave up driving when he was 32 and reading when was 40 and he now frequents Laos were he enjoys teaching English to the blind.
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Laptop With JAWS software presented to Colin Taylor – Evans with
Members Tim Wong, Ted Mlynarz, Dr William Trinh & Chinh Dang |
Colin then describes Phetsami as an intelligent and motivated young lady who is studying English and would like to further her studies to qualify her as an English Teacher.
At present she has to travel and have written documentation for course submission processed and submitted by other means. JAWS software is then designed to enable blind persons to learn and use a laptop allowing a blind person to type and submit their own assignments. The software allows this by reading and voicing everything that is on the screen to the operator.
The project was presented to the Liverpool West Rotary Satellite Club members who are passionate about assisting the blind when assistance is otherwise not forthcoming and where there is a demonstrated need.
Colin has since attended a number of the satellite Club meetings and organised a telephone hook up with Ms Phetsami during a meeting utilising the services local Laos Community interpreter (Pierre).
It was established that her parents were from a rural village hundreds of Kilometres away and were unable to assist. The School also receives little funding and the students at the school are mostly self reliant in day to day tasks, which is a pre-requisite of being allowed to reside at the school.
Our member Peter Beadle did the homework and came up with a quote for a $2,000.00 package of a Laptop with Jaws software. While the Satellite club had ample funds, members of the Satellite club showed their compassion for Ms Phetsami by reaching into their own pockets to contribute $1,221.40 to the cause.
Peter then finalised the deal at $1,547.00 including carry bag and earphones with the package presented to Mr Colin Taylor-Evans at the satellite Club meeting on 25 October prior to his departure for Laos on 3 November.
Appreciation to Mr Peter Beadle for arranging the purchase and to satellite club members for their contributions. |