How to Conduct a Blind Walk

A lot of the Friends of Esha have been happy to hear of the Blind Walk, and have indicated a desire to conduct Blind Walks near their own homes.

So, we created this document on "How to Conduct a Blind Walk" .

How to Conduct a Blind Walk- Organizer’s Guide

Introduction

This document is for all the friends of Esha who want to organise a Blind Walk. This is a complete organiser’s guide, and we hope this will help in conducting the Walk successfully.

Blind Walk

Blind walk is an activity conducted for people to experience the challenges faced by visually impaired people. The primary purpose of this event is to raise public awareness about the difficulties and help create a sense of responsibility in the society.

The events are staged in the centre of densely crowded places or parks or malls to gain attention to the general public in the area. It is imminent need for the people to look forward to help disabled people in the light of any adversary they face in their day to day activities. Blind walk helps create an impact by making them feel and experience the same.

Requirement Gathering

People Required:

i)                    Participants: 4 to 10 participants. Advised to start with fewer people during the initial blind walk and adding more participants subsequently.

ii)                   Volunteers:  At least  1 volunteer per two participants

Time Required:

One Week

Organising – Preparatory work

1.       Decide the venue for conducting the walk. The walk should be conducted preferably in a busy public place to spread awareness among the public for the need of equal inclusive environment for the disabled and for the participants to get the actual realistic experience

2.       If needed, permission has to be taken from the concerned authorities to conduct the blind walk in the public place

3.       Make arrangements for Canes (sticks used by the blind for support) to identify obstacles during the walk and for direction

4.       Identify volunteers and instruct them with the below guidelines:

i)                    The volunteers should not help or give directions to the participants during the walk but just guide them  when there is an obstacle

ii)                   Volunteers should not guide more than two participants at a time during the walk

iii)                 Volunteers should ensure safety during the activity

5.       Gather participants for the walk and instruct them with the guidelines as well. It is important the participants are aware of the purpose of the walk, which they will certainly experience

Organising - One day before

1.       It is important to conduct a site visit of the selected place for the walk prior to the day of the event and ensure that the location of event is secure

2.       During the site visit it is important to fix the start and end points of the brief walk such that it is of 100mts to 200mts distance with less possible obstacle on the path

3.       Make sure the availability of the volunteers and the participants, importantly if sufficient volunteers are available to guide the participants

4.       Ensure sufficient canes are available, one per participant

5.       Make arrangement for a person to record the walk and the participant’s experience at the end of the walk

Organising - On the day of Blind Walk

1.       Reach the venue a little ahead of the others with the volunteers

2.       Make sure the spot is reasonably busy for the public to see the event and suitable for the walk

3.       The canes and camera to record are the only properties required, ensure you have them ready in good condition

4.       When the volunteers arrive, guide them to the decided blind walk start point. Explain the following to them:

1.       Show the end point to finish the walk

2.       Introduce them to their respective volunteers who will closely walk with them

3.       Inform them the volunteers will not give them any directions, will just protect them from obstacles coming on their way.

4.       Let them know the walk will give them a completely new experience

5.       Ask them to close their eyes once they start walking, and keep their eyes closed till they reach the destination and their volunteer instructs to open them.

6.       The volunteer will intervene if there is a physical danger to the participant (e.g., the participant is moving towards a staircase, or towards a high traffic area or a wall) .

5.       The purpose of the event should be declared to the crowd observing the event. Interested public can also be allowed to experience the walk.

Organising - Follow up Activities

1.       Please record the experience of the participants after the walk. You will be amazed by different experiences and realizations from the participants. Preferably a clear video/audio recording.

2.       Please email their experiences to eshabraille@gmail.com  which will be posted in Esha’s blog http://eshabraille.blogspot.in/ for a wider reach.

3.       If you want to upload the video/audio recordings and images of the walk and the experience, kindly share it in our Facebook page ‘Esha – People for the Blind’