Скачать или смотреть Tech Innovation for a Visually Impaired Elder by Phuti Ragophala -South Africa

#1Billion Acts of Kindness #1BillionSummit
Charity begins at home!
I am supporting an elderly gentleman, now 74 years old, who became visually impaired due to glaucoma. He was born with full vision and only began to lose his sight at the age of 69. Today marks five years of living in darkness—a journey that continues to affect him emotionally and psychologically. With the support of psychiatrists, he is still learning to accept his condition and manage the depression that accompanies such a life-changing experience.

In my efforts to improve his mobility and independence, I secured a white walking stick and arranged for an NGO team that trains the visually impaired to guide him in using it safely. However, the traditional walking stick remains passive and provides no active feedback to support his movement.

To innovate around this limitation, I attached a cellphone to the walking stick and used an LED Scroller app to display guiding messages. While this was a step forward, it is still not enough to meet his needs.

I am appealing to innovators, engineers, assistive-technology developers, and humanitarian organizations to explore the possibility of creating a more interactive solution—specifically, a walking stick that can talk to him, provide audio cues, guide his path within the yard, and eventually assist him safely beyond the gate. Such a mechanism would greatly enhance his confidence, mobility, and quality of life. That person is my husband.