MEMBERTOU FIRST NATION, N.S. — An afternoon at Lanes at Membertou in Membertou, N.S., Thursday was less about bowling and more about getting together with one goal in mind.
The event was all part of White Cane Week, which is held each year during the first week of February to raise public awareness of the challenges Canadians living with vision loss face.
Louise Gillis, a visually-impaired bowler, lost her eyesight more than 20 years ago.
She said Thursday was all about fellowship and enjoying the experience.
“Because a lot of the times, people are left at home,” she said.
Gillis has been going to the bowling alley with her visually impaired friends weekly to bowl several strings.
“It doesn't matter what your level of ability is, you can still bowl. There's adaptive equipment on the lanes that some of our total blind will use and you'll see today,” said Gillis.
Sighted people who attended Thursday's event used simulators of various eye diseases that blind and visually-impaired people have.
“Like glaucoma, macular degeneration, and cataracts like I have,” said Raymond Young, a visually-impaired bowler.
Dave Burns was the first to test out the simulation goggles.
“It's like I’m blind. I can't see a thing,” he said.
His first attempt didn’t go quite so well and ended up in the gutter.
“Tomorrow when I wake up, I’ll know exactly what they go through,” said Burns.
Burns has been volunteering with the Canadian Council of the Blind for 23 years.
“We just take everything for granted. I can get up and jump in a car or go outside whenever I want. They can't,” he said.
Burns says the experience helped him gain a different point-of-view and an appreciation for the challenges some people face every day.
