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SAVH InSightCONTENTS

Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped47 Toa Payoh Rise, Singapore 298104 Tel: (+65) 6251-4331 | Fax: (+65) 6253-7191Email: [email protected]: www.savh.org.sg

MCI (P) 025/05/2017 | Issue 2/2017 | Dec 2017

President’s Foreword P3General Announcements P4FUND RAISING / PRIWCD 2017 P6庆祝囯际白杖日2017 P8Compass One Adoption and Cheque Presentation P9Outreach at Pre-schools P10Sands for Singapore Charity Festival 2017 – ‘Play It Forward’ P12Donation drive at Endeavour Primary School P13FEATURESCelebrating Inclusiveness with SAVH – A Volunteer’s Perspective P14SAVH-SingHealth President’s Challenge 2017 Collaboration P16Tan Chay Bing Bursary Award Ceremony P17TECHNOLOGYAssistive Technology for the Visually Impaired P18

视障人士的辅助科技 P19SPORTS / HEALTHInternational Blind Tennis Tournament P20

SAVH-Radin Mas IRCC Bowling Event P21

Get Active! Singapore 2017 - Archery and Bowling CompetitionsP22ASEAN Para Games 2017 P23DCC Health Tips P24COMPETITIONSAVH Short Story Writing Competition 2017 P26

At Touch Art Studio@SAVH, visually handicapped clients produce an assortment of handicraft items using their refined

sense of touch with the guidance of sighted volunteers.

We are able to customise the handicraft items according to your specifications for any special occasions. Your purchase

will benefit the visually handicapped persons who receive the net proceeds from the sale of the handicraft items.

Allow us to share with you our full range of handicraft items on our website and gift ideas. Please contact Touch Art at 62514331 Ext 167 or

email to [email protected] regarding any enquiries or orders.

Forewordby President, SAVH

Dear Donors, Members, Clients, Volunteers, Staff and Friends:

With the Christmas festivities around the corner, it is hard not to get caught up in a whirl of shopping, decorating and party planning, and in the course of doing so, too often we lose sight of the true meaning of the season. Christmas is symbolic of giving, and there is a natural tendency to intensify this goodwill more than any other time of the year. More importantly it signifies a time for us to be generous, with our nearest and dearest, and mindful of those less privileged.

With that said, do allow me to give you an account of the main events that took place since our last issue in May 2017.

SAVH was adopted by CompassOne at a Mother’s Day event at the main atrium of the Mall on 14 May. The one year adoption programme was introduced to heighten the public’s awareness of people with vision impairment at its key events and supporting campaigns.

Our clients were treated to a movie premier of Transformers: The Last Knight on 1 July with the compliments of SingHealth which had elected SAVH as one of the beneficiaries under the President’s Challenge 2017 initiatives.

As part of the 52nd National Day Celebrations, SAVH initiated two sporting competitions in Archery and Bowling for our VH clients, in support of the week long sporting bash organised by GetActive! Singapore from 29 July to 9 August. With the main intent of endorsing sports and fostering a healthier lifestyle for the VH, my Executive Committee has recently forged a new Sports & Wellness Sub-Committee to look into promoting and developing sports and wellness activities for our clients. We hope to inspire and groom more clients to take up sports and achieve their optimal potential in the sporting arena of their choice.

The International White Cane Day aptly themed ‘Turning Moments into Memories Together’ was a resounding success. The fundraising carnival attracted some 400 VH clients. I would like to thank the many sponsors, volunteers and clients who came forward to support us at an event of this magnitude. Special mention goes out to Uncle Ringo for sponsoring the games stalls and amusement rides and CompassOne for donating more than $16,000 worth of assistive devices as door gifts and lucky draw prizes for our VH attendees.

This issue would be incomplete without us sharing some valuable sidelights on the latest in Assistive Technology that can enhance our clients’ daily living skills. As we wrap up another hectic albeit bountiful year, we hope you will find our new bite-sized features informative and engaging.

On that note, allow me to wish all of you many good tidings this Christmas and a Happy New Year ahead!

Mr Phillip Lee Soo Hoon, BBM, PBMPresident, SAVH

SAVH Insight | Issue 2/2017 P3

P4 SAVH Insight | Issue 2/2017

Editorial CommitteeMr Danny Chia, Ms Chua Swee Keow, Mr Ando Yeo, Ms Dolores Scully-Bailey

New StaffWe wish to welcome Mr Andy Ang Hock Beng, Social Worker at Social Work Department

Executive Committee Board Members (EXCO)The Executive Committee for 2017/2018 with effect from 26 August 2017 comprise:-

President : Mr Phillip Lee Soo Hoon, BBM, PBMVice-President : Mr Victor Chen Kah KengVice-President : Mr Danny Chia Choon Guan *Honorary Secretary : Ms Chua Swee KeowHonorary Treasurer : Mr Lau Kin Harn Honorary Assistant : Mr Albert Ang Hong WooTreasurer Members : Mr Ali Bin Daud * Mr Benson Loo Kah Chun* : Mr Ng Guan Sing * Mr Lok Foo Weng * : Mr Tan Guan Heng, BBM * Ms Siti Rossaliza Binte Rosli * : Mr John Ting Kang Chung : Mr Adrian Tan Gim Hai (Co-opted) Mr Choo Chek Siew (Co-opted)WCC Representative : Mr Goh Yiu Huat * * Visually Handicapped

Acknowledgement of Collaborations/ Fundraising Events from Apr 2017 – Dec 2017

We are thankful for the following collaborations and to the organisations for inviting SAVH and our clients for the events:

• 22 May 2017 : SPH (Charity Carnival)• 26 May 2017 : Cheque Presentation at SAVH by Transit Link Pte Ltd• 29 July 2017 : Old Rafflesian Association Dinner at RWS West Ballroom• 30 July 2017 : Hua Xing Choir Society Charity Musical• 19 September 2017 : HP Awareness Event• 24 September 2017 : PAssionwave @ Marina Bay• 24 September 2017 : Tai Shang Lao Jun Birthday Dinner Celebration• 15 December 2017 : Singing of Carols by Children from Chen Su Lan Methodist Children’s

Home• 2017 : Regular Luncheon by New Woman Group & Zhen Shan Mei Group

Newsletter in audio versionIf you are not aware, we have uploaded an audio version of the newsletter on the website of SAVH and Facebook since the November 2016 issue! We will continue to do so for this and future issues.

FeedbackFeel free to provide feedback on what you wish to see being featured in the future issues of our Insight newsletter!

General Announcements

P5SAVH Insight | Issue 2/2017

SAVH FLAG DAY

2018

Sign Up Now!’

‘Come Join Us as Volunteers & be a Blind-Buddy for the day

June 2018

9Saturday

For more information please contact either Ms Fauziah or Ms Dolores

at 62514331 Ext 115 or Ext 113!

International White Cane Day 2017 CelebrationsDolores Scully-Bailey

SAVH celebrated International White Cane Day (IWCD) on 14 October 2017 with a fund-raising carnival complete with 15 F&B kiosks, inclusive of live-cooking stations, and 5 Games stalls with Bouncy Castle (courtesy of Uncle Ringo). Additional attractions included a Photo Booth, Balloon Sculpting station, A-Maze-ing Room obstacle course and Rodeo Broncho Ride.

The tag line we adopted for this year was ‘Turning Moments into Memories Together, and our Guest-of-Honour was Senior Minister of State for Health, Communications and Information, Mr Chee Hong Tat, who was no stranger to our Association having graced an earlier event.

We were extremely fortunate to have celebrity DJs, better known as the ‘Twins Gone Wrong’ routine act, Mr Herbert Liu and Mr Jackie See, emceeing pro bono alongside Mr Edwin Khoo, himself a visually-impaired employee of SAVH.

SAVH Insight | Issue 2/2017P6

Fund Raising / Public Relations

International White Cane Day 2017 CelebrationsDolores Scully-Bailey

After the opening speech by IWCD Organising Chairman Mr Ali Daud who spoke eloquently about the challenges faced by our clients on a daily basis, how they managed to overcome these and ultimately triumph over adversity, the carnival was declared officially open.

A highlight of the programme was the presentation of the latest O&M techniques by UK Consultant Mr James Aylett, with an engaging Basic Sighted Guide live demonstration by staff from Social Work Department.

The stage performance got off to a start with most of the entertainment provided by our multi-talented clients and Serangoon Music Makers, a grassroots community band. The 501st Rebel Legion of Storm Troopers who roved around in costume proved to be a huge crowd pleaser.

As it was a swelteringly hot day, it was indeed providential that we had planned ahead in booking a Milo Van to quench parched throats. The attendants were kept extremely busy dispensing this ice cold and lip-smacking nutritious drink.

The IWCD celebrations which was hosted at our premises was both a fund raising and public awareness occasion as we showcased our core services like Touch Art, Massage Therapy, Dining-in-the-Dark, Braille Services. Over 500 clients, family members and general public supported the event and join in the celebrations.

All the clients were gifted with carnival coupons as well as goodie bags to derive the fullest enjoyment. The atmosphere emanating from the entire celebration which was spread over both 47 and 49 Toa Payoh Rise properties was joyful and carefree. Most of the visitors who were first-timers to the scene had a fantastic experience all around too.

We were extremely blessed to have good weather throughout -it seemed even the gods were smiling down on us. Kudos to everyone who worked tirelessly to pull off yet another successful IWCD and we definitely managed to turn moments into memories together!


协会于2017年10月14日庆祝今年的囯际白杖日。它以嘉年华筹款的方式进行，共有15个食物摊位，包括现场边煮边卖摊位，5个游戏摊位（由 Uncle Ringo赞助）和弹跳充气城堡。其他还有拍照亭，气球雕塑展台，迷宮探险室和牛仔竞技游戏。

今年的庆祝标语为“将瞬间化为永恒记忆”。嘉年华会主宾为通讯及新闻部兼卫生部高级政务部长徐芳达先生。今年3月，徐部长也出席了协会举办的2017年慰劳晚会及慈善抽奖，並且也是大会的主宾。同时，我们也荣幸邀请到艺人DJ Herbert Liu先生和 Jackie See 先生义务当司仪，並与协会视障职员邱德泉共同主持节目。

今年囯际白杖日筹委会主席,也是视障者Ali Daud先生在开场白中提到我们的视障者如何克服生活中所面对的种种挑战和他们如何战胜逆境。白杖日嘉年华在他演讲完毕后正式开幕。

嘉年华的一项主要节目是由來自英囯的定位与行动培训专才James Aylett先生呈现最先进的定位与行动技巧，並由协会社工部示笵基本引导技巧。

台上的余兴节目主要由协会多才多艺的视障者提供。还有我们也再次邀请到一支基层社区乐团Serangoon Music Makers 为我们献唱。同時，我们还邀请到星际大战中501反叛军团的帝囯风暴兵亮相，吸引大批观众竞相与他们拍照。

当天烈日当空，还好事前我们已安排了美禄专车为大家提供冰冷美味的饮料为大家解渴。

我们尝试以庆祝白杖日作为筹款活动平台；同時也不忘展示我们的一些主要服务如手工艺品制作，按摩，暗室餐饮，盲字服务等，以提高公众人士的认知。超过500 名视障者与他们的家人及公众人士参于白杖日的庆祝.

视障者都获赠嘉年华固本和一个礼包。欢乐和愉悦的气氛弥漫在47和49的大芭窑坡。多数第一次造访者，都有着美好的体验。

在接连数日雨天后，当天天气非常晴朗，谢谢老天爷的配合，使节目能顺利进行。在此，我们要谢谢各位的参于使2017囯际白杖日能成功举行。它印证了将瞬间化为永恒记忆。

庆祝囯际白杖日2017甘迪生



One of Singapore’s giant retailers, Compass One which is owned by North 1 Pte Ltd, has selected SAVH as its adopted charity for 2017 and 2018, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility initiative.

This adoption was announced at Compass One’s Mother’s Day event held on 14 May 2017 at the main atrium of the mall. An investiture ceremony was also held in conjunction with this event wherein Compass One presented a cheque of $5,000 to SAVH’s Executive Director, Mr Ando Yeo.

Some of our clients were invited to perform over the Mother’s Day weekend festivities by entertaining shoppers with their melodious tunes. SAVH Mobile Massage Therapy services were also available for shoppers wanting to relieve muscular aches or merely to pamper themselves.

Compass One had also sponsored all lucky draw prizes for the SAVH’s annual International White Cane Day event held in mid-October.

Compass One will strive to heighten public awareness of people with vision impairment by supporting SAVH in various ways through campaigns and events.

Compass One Adoption and Cheque PresentationFauziah Hanim Ahmad


SAVH has been most active over the last few months in conducting outreach at various day-care centres and kindergartens to promote awareness about blindness cum low vision, and how it is closely intertwined with the five senses.

To date we have visited centres around the island including Ang Mo Kio, Lakeside, Woodlands and Kaki Bukit, and given talks to children in the K1-K2 bracket, at the Little Skool House International, Pat’s Skool House, PCF Sparkletots Woodlands and PCF Sparkletots Kaki Bukit.

Both PCF Centres have also helped to raise much needed funds through their own initiatives including bake-sales and handicraft sales on their open house and family days.

It was always refreshing to address little ones who never ceased to amaze me with their frank and candid questions and their animated interest in the world around them. For simplicity I got them to address me as Aunty Dolly, which had them rolling in the aisles with giggles! All the talks were founded upon the five senses and how the loss of one, particularly vision, can be compensated to a very high degree by their remaining senses.

The children I met with each time were a lively and curious bunch overflowing with questions such as the following:

Can a person with low vision become a fire fighter?Why doesn’t every blind person have a ‘guard’ dog to protect them?Who takes care of them if their mummies and daddies have to go to work?What happens if they lose their ‘white stick’?Was Aunty Dolly visually impaired herself since she wore glasses?

As one can gather all pre-schoolers have a very active imagination and were very sensitive to the needs of the less privileged. They were particularly curious when I brought up my standard analogy of the 2 babies, one congenitally blind from birth, while the other was born with 20/20 vision. I posed the burning question as to which baby would grow up with better hearing, smell, touch and taste senses. They never disappoint in their responses which were invariably colourful and varied.

Outreach at Pre-Schools & KindergartensDolores Scully-Bailey



I invited them up to role-play with the blind fold and white cane and at the end of each session they sweetly help themselves to the Braille and Sighted-Guide cards, before giving Auntie Dolly a hug for stopping by to share about visual impairment.

It was delightful to see them avid and eager to learn about various disabilities; as the session progressed, they became more engaged, rather than becoming easily distracted, which was what I initially expected. Each time the session lasts a couple of hours, which speaks volumes when it comes to pre-schoolers.

I hope to be able to continue to spread awareness on the condition of the visually-handicapped to the younger generation, as I believe an early introduction to the subject of people with disabilities will cultivate a heightened social awareness from a tender age. This will have a huge impact and lasting impression from their formative years onwards. The more youth we reach out to will definitely influence and shape our society in the future.


The fifth ‘Sands for Singapore Charity Festival 2017’ organised by Marina Bay Sands (MBS) was held from 8 to 10 September 2017. Its signature event, the ‘Play It Forward’ charity race returned for the third year on 10 September 2017.

Three teams which had registered for the ‘Play It Forward’ race nominated SAVH as their beneficiary of choice.

The charity race ended at 1pm after intense competition. The Beyond Social Services team emerged victorious after beating AMKFSC to clinch the champion title. Though our teams were not placed, all participating teams were winners as MBS donated $2,500 per team to each nominated beneficiary.

We would like to thank MBS once again for selecting SAVH as one of the charities of choice and to the 3 teams led by Mr Lau Kam Yuen, Parthasarathy Sathish Krishna and Ms Nina Lim for their efforts and support. We certainly look forward to the event in 2018!

‘Play It Forward’ Charity Race Kan Teck San



Endeavour Primary School held its donation drive on 29 August 2017 in support of SAVH. The school had also requested for an SAVH awareness booth, featuring Touch-Art products and Braille Books, to be set up in the school to pique the students’ interest.

Donation Drive at Endeavour Primary School Chew Soon Hing

When the bell rang for recess, children rushed out of the classes like a swarm of bees but instead of heading for the canteen to fill their hungry stomachs, they made a bee-line for the Donation Tins, where they carefully counted how much money they could spare before dropping them into the tins.

Coincidently, the next day was Teachers’ Day and many of the students also checked out the Touch Art products and made small purchases to present them to their Teachers.

It was gratifying to see that although many of the students did not have much pocket money, they unstintingly and without any hesitation donated a substantial portion of their allowance. It was really an eye-opener. As adults, we have more money in our wallets than the students, but would we donate half or even a quarter of our wallets’ contents?


In the afternoon of 28 October 2017, some 10,000 people descended at Suntec City, to support the Purple Parade. It is the largest movement in Singapore to promote awareness, support inclusion and celebrate the abilities of people with special needs.

Last year, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his wife Mrs Lee were the guests of honour. This year, our new President Halimah Yacob was the guest of honour. Other notable guests included Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam and his wife, Ms Jane Ittogi and Parliamentary Speaker Tan Chuan Jin and Minister Denise Phua.

Madam Halimah shared about the importance of being inclusive. The main gist of her message was to create a strong and sound society by not building “walls”. Meanwhile Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam emphasized the need to be ‘One United People’.

Our group of volunteers for SAVH, coordinated by Janice Tan, met our VH and charge of the day and rode the chartered buses to Suntec City. I had also arranged for my sister, her daughter and sister-in-law to help as volunteers.

That was when I met my VH and Charge of the day. I shall call him Moses in this article. Moses has a lovely heart, a very positive soul and full trust in his God. He has a radiant smile, always joking and poking fun at his friends. The first thing he observed was ‘How great the weather was and that it was not raining.’

Moses is 62 years of age, a true blue Singaporean, having served National Service. It was during his National Service, that he realised he was gradually losing his sight. He managed to complete his NS and landed a good job as an engineer at Siemens, doing complicated machine programming for almost 20 years. Then when his division was outsourced to Korea, he joined MOE and became a teacher at ACS Primary. That was when he lost his sight.

2017 was Moses first Purple Parade. As we walked from the Convention Centre to the carnival stage, we talked about everything we passed by, from Uniqlo, Lexus cars, Harley-Davidson motorcycles and Lamborghini on display, groups of kids from Chao Yang dancing on stage, oldies music by 81-year mother Mary, and his love for drumming and sports cars. He was absolutely cheerful - not a word of complain or a single frown on his face, in the sweltering heat of the carnival.

As we went from stall to stall, Moses talked to everyone. We sampled cookies and brought back some dinner. We even talked to an artist who paints with his mouth. That’s where we also met a stranger who was perfectly normal, but she shared she was totally blind in 1 eye. That spoke volumes about the strength of the human spirit.

Then it was time to change into our costumes. The meeting point was about 100m away and we had to weave through the open-air concert and thousands of people. Moses and I walked hand in hand, dancing and singing our favourite hymns and Christmas carols at the top of our voices in perfect unison. We didn’t have a care in the world.

Celebrating inclusiveness with SAVH – A Volunteer’s PerspectiveJon Lau


Features

Celebrating inclusiveness with SAVH – A Volunteer’s PerspectiveJon Lau

When it was finally our turn to walk the aisles reserved for the groups, Moses and I sashayed down in high spirits, dancing, swaying and cheering, cheered on by Parliamentary speaker Tan Chuan Jin and Mayor Denise Phua. As the day drew to an end, Moses was already looking forward to his next Purple Parade.

As for me, I had found a great buddy. Moses had a big heart, caring for everyone around him and had a great outlook in life. He showed me how to connect using our hearts. I also found a drum teacher - Moses used to play for a defunct band for SAVH, called Forever Young. I look forward to meeting him more often.


SingHealth-SAVH President’s Challenge 2017 CollaborationFauziah Hanim Ahmad

As part of President’s Challenge 2017 initiative SingHealth elected SAVH as one of its beneficiaries of choice. To kick-start this partnership, SingHealth held a movie screening in the early morning of 1 July 2017 at Shaw Lido Theatre.

The premier movie was “Transformers: The Last Knight”, a 2017 American science fiction action film based on the Transformers toy line created by Hasbro. It is the fifth instalment of the live-action Transformers film series, the second film in the sequel trilogy and the sequel to 2014’s “Transformers: Age of Extinction”.

A group of 20 visually-impaired clients and SAVH staff attended the movie screening which they enjoyed immensely along with the complimentary popcorn and drink combo and goodie bags.

After several months of on-going events including an Urban Race Event and outings for our clients, our collaboration with SingHealth came to a close on 28 October 2017 at SGH Academia Auditorium. The Grand Finale included showcasing some of our core services including Touch Art Sales and Mobile Massage.

The GOH was none other than our newly appointed President Madam Halimah Yacob. Apart from SAVH, SingHealth had also invited the 5 other beneficiaries. There was also a musical segment featuring SAVH client Ms Chua Lee Joo who along with other VWO representatives performed ‘Sing’ alongside local celebrity songbird Ms Clarissa Monteiro.

This wrapped up yet another productive collaboration under the President’s Challenge vanguard, so a big shout-out of thanks to SingHealth for coming on board and supporting our cause.


Features

On 6 Nov 2017, visually impaired students from lower income families were awarded bursaries from Tan Chay Bing Education Fund to defray the expenses incurred in relation to their educational needs. 13 visually impaired students from the various special schools were beneficiaries of this fund for Year 2017.

Earlier in the year, 12 tertiary students from University and Polytechnics were bestowed bursaries from the same Tan Chay Bing Education Fund for Year 2016.

Tan Chay Bing Bursary Award CeremonyShirley Liew


Assistive Technology for the Visually ImpairedChong Kwek Bin

Technology has come a long way for everyone, including persons with low vision or no vision at all. However, not many people are aware of this, including the visually impaired themselves. Efforts have been made to educate the general public, visitors to SAVH and visually impaired clients of SAVH, but these efforts can never be enough. We wish to cast the net even wider through giving a quick snapshot in this article.

Technology for the visually impaired can be summarized as follows:

1. There are software and hardware options to help a visually impaired person access technology. These options can be applied to computers, smartphones such as iPhones, Android phones (such as Samsung, LG, Sony, HTC phones etc) and tablets (such as iPads). As such, even a totally blind person has the potential to use a smartphone.

2. There are mainstream accessories which can be useful to a visually impaired. It may be as simple as connecting the computer to a large TV screen, or using a carefully selected bluetooth keyboard with the smartphone. There are also built-in options (in both computers and smartphones); some free options which can be downloaded and installed, and of course there are options which are specially designed for the visually impaired, and have to be purchased, often through authorised agents such as SAVH. There are devices which are connected (often wirelessly) to computers or smartphones for use, and there are devices which are used independently of computers and smartphones.

3. Assistive technology does one or a combination of three things: i) Make it easier for the user to see what appeared on the screen ii) Read the information out to the user so that the user does not have to look at the screeniii) Let the user read by touching the Braille display unit

When you are no longer using a visual method of accessing technology, you will have to use very different methods of operating the equipment. You may be using a computer, but not using the mouse. You may be using an iPhone, not by looking for the item you want but touching it directly. Information on how to do so is abundantly available on the Net, and training is also available at SAVH.

Please contact Mr Chong Kwek Bin at 62514331 ext 152 or [email protected] should you need more details or would like to sign up for training.


Technology

科技日新月异，一日千里，能帮助视障人士的辅助科技也如此。然而，许多人对这一点仍不知情,包括视障人士本身。新加坡视障人士协会正致力于向公众及视障人士进行这方面的宣导。为多管齐下,在此刊载这篇文章, ，力求向更多人提供相关信息。

概括而论,视障人士的辅助科技有以下三点值得一提:1）视障人士可以通过软件或硬件来帮助他们使用科技。不仅电脑，手机也如此。有鉴于此, 就算完全看不见的人

也能使用触屏式智能手机, 例如苹果手机或安卓手机 (Samsung, Sony, LG，HTC等等)。

2）视障人士可以通过慎选主流配备来帮助他们使用科技。例如, 他们可以使用大屏幕的电视与电脑衔接, 或将容易使用的蓝牙键盘与手机衔接。另一方面，电脑和智能手机其实本身已经内设有各种设置和工具可以使用操作。此外也有免费的软件你可以下载安装。当然也有特别为视障人士设计的软件、配备器材等可以购买, 而这些往往都是通过指定分销商售卖, 例如新加坡视障人士协会。这些软件或器材可以是和电脑或手机配合起来使用的,也可以是分开来独立使用。

3）辅助科技可以通过三种途径帮助视障人士使用科技:a) 让使用者更容易看到荧幕上的内容。b) 用语音代替影像，把荧幕上的内容读出来, 让使用者听到荧幕上的内容。c) 用触觉来代替视觉,让使用者通过摸 (一般指的是点字) 来接收信息。

一旦你不再使用视觉来操作科技,你就得应用非常不一样的方法来使用科技。例如, 你可以在不使用滑鼠的情况下操作电脑, 也可以在完全无需知道屏幕上图标的位置的情况下操作触屏式手机。网络上存在着大量相关方法的信息, 相关的培训也可通过新加坡视障人士协会获取。

欲知更多相关信息或培训,请联络张国斌，电话6251 4331转线152，或电邮 [email protected]。

视障人士的辅助科技


International Blind Tennis TournamentKan Teck San

Our four visually impaired clients Mr Ong Hock Bee, Mr Marc Chiang, Mr Jessen Ng Hang Siew and Ms Chris Tan Siow Huei accompanied by four volunteers Ms Seng Hwee Cheng, Ms Ng Sook Zhen, Ms Cindy Wee Yen Minn and Ms Codee Ong participated in the Blind Tennis International Tournament held in Benidorm, Spain from 6 to 11 May 2017.

The inaugural Blind Tennis International Tournament Spain 2017 was organised by the International Blind Tennis Association (IBTA) with the help of Sounc Tennis Foundation Spain. The event was held in a small city of Alfaz del Pi within Benidorm, belonging to the city of Alicante and bordering with the white coast of Mediterranean sea.

Our players, Hock Bee and Marc Chiang, fought hard at the semi-finals and were both ranked fourth best in the world.

Congratulations Hock Bee and Marc! You made Singapore proud.


Sports/ Health

SAVH - Radin Mas IRCC Cares Bowling Project 2017Sarjit Singh / Goh Ching Hsia

Radin Mas IRCC organised an IRCC Cares Project “Bowling with SAVH Clients” on 23 July 2017, 3pm at Planet Bowl, Civil Service Club (Tessensohn Road). The event was made possible with sponsorship from Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and was supported by Radin Mas Constituency Sports Club. SAVH sent 45 participants comprising 30 clients and 15 volunteers. Another 40 members from the Radin Mas IRCC and volunteers from various Religious Organisations took part in the event.

Mr Sam Tan, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Manpower and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Adviser to Radin Mas IRCC was the Guest of Honour (GOH) at the event. Mr Sam Tan interacted with the participants, and presented certificates of appointment to the Radin Mas IRCC members.

The community event brought together members and volunteers from Religious Organisations (ROs) in Radin Mas to have an interactive activity with the SAVH clients. Many of the volunteers from the ROs are youth leaders who shared that the event allowed them an opportunity to interact with the SAVH clients, ensuring that they had an enjoyable time. The event ended with a dinner where organisers specially arranged for participants to “dine in the dark” for 15 minutes, creating a common and shared experience for everyone.

Everyone enjoyed mingling during the bowling session and over dinner and look forward to another such event next year.


Get Active! Singapore 2017 - Archery and Bowling Competitions Janice Tan

As part of the 52nd National Day Celebrations, SAVH initiated two of its own sporting competitions for our visually handicapped (VH) clients in Archery and Bowling in support of the week- long sporting bash organised by GetActive! Singapore from 29 July to 9 August.

The two Competitions were ground-up sports initiative to create inclusiveness in sporting activities where VH play alongside their peers in a friendly match supported by the sighted to heighten awareness that sports can bring people together regardless of race, language, religion, social status and challenges. The Competitions were also held to inspire VH clients who were already participating in some sporting activities to take the sports to a higher level such as the ASEAN Para Games and Asian Para Games. VH clients who had not been active in sports might also be inspired to take up or resume their healthy lifestyles.

Visually impaired who took part at the two events were glad to have the opportunity to do so. Teh Lin, one of the clients who participated in the Archery Competition on 30 July, was happy to receive a Gold medal having tried Archery for the second time only. He credited the team members’ efforts for the achievement. Besides archery, he also enjoys bowling and shooting. Participating in these sports trained him to stay focused, improved his self-confidence and provided a sense of accomplishment when he excelled.

Fadiah whose team won in the Bowling Competition on 6 Aug echoed his sentiments. She was pleasantly surprised but thrilled as it was the very first gold medal she has received in an event jointly organised with another organisation. She was overjoyed as she had joined the Competition without expecting she could win any medal. She looked forward to more of such collaborations which provide the VH exposure to the demanding environment of competitions, allowed them to gauge their competency levels and sharpen their bowling skills.


Sports/ Health

ASEAN Para Games (APG) 2017 was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 17 September to 23 September. Singapore sent a total of 94 athletes to compete in 11 sports, the largest away contingent for APG. Our visually handicapped (VH) athletes represented Singapore in Chess, Para Cycling, Para Swimming and Ten-Pin Bowling.

APG 2017 saw Singapore win record away haul of 50 medals (9 Gold, 17 Silver, 24 Bronze). Our VH athletes contributed a total of 15 medals in Para Cycling (1 Gold, 4 Silver, 6 Bronze), Swimming (1 Silver, 1 Bronze) and Tenpin Bowling (1 Gold, 1 Bronze).

The VH athletes with podium finishes were:-

Name of athlete Sports event Category MedalMohamad Ismail Bin Hussain Tenpin Bowling Mixed Singles GoldThomas Nathan Chan Kim Yong and Mohamad Ismail Bin Hussain

Tenpin Bowling Mixed Doubles Bronze

Wong Zhi Wei Para Swimming Men 100m Freestyle SilverMen 50m Freestyle Bronze

Lee Seok Bee Emily Para Cycling Individual Time Trial GoldWomen Sprint SilverIndividual Pursuit SilverRoad Race SilverKilometer Bronze

Jessen Ng Hang Siew Para Cycling Individual Time Trial SilverSprint Bronze4000m Individual Pursuit BronzeKilometer Bronze

Kang Ting Ling Delia Para Cycling Individual Time Trial BronzeTee Wee Leong Steve Para Cycling Individual Time Trial Bronze

The triumph was made sweeter with new VH talents joining the Games and a number of VH athletes making their debut appearances in Para Cycling sports and bringing home a haul of 11 medals!

SAVH welcomed the para athletes back to Singapore on 24 September at Changi Airport. Executive Committee members, Sub-Committee members, family members and friends further congratulated the VH athletes for their sterling performance and flying the Singapore flag high!

Wong Zhi Wei

Mohamad Ismail Bin Hussain

Thomas Nathan Chan Kim Yong

ASEAN Para Games 2017 Chua Swee Keow

Tee Wee Leong Steve

Kang Ting Ling Delia

Lee Seok Bee Emily


Fingernail Care after Losing Your SightMildred Tay

Caring for your fingernails is fairly simple. Never cut or remove your cuticles as infections can set in. It is also important to keep your nails clean and dry to prevent bacterial and fungal infections. Here are some tips and techniques on fingernail care for men and women.

1. Cleaning Your Fingernails

• Clean your fingernails daily with a nail brush, soap, and water.

• Use lemon juice and a pumice stone to clean nicotine stains on your fingertips. Use lemon juice daily and pumice once a week. (For smokers)

• Scrub your cuticles and fingertips with a nail brush, soap, and water.

• Always use hand lotion after cleaning your fingernails.

2. Filing and Cutting Your Nails

• Shorter nails are easier to maintain.• Emery boards and metal files

usually have a rough and a fine side.

• The rough side is for quick removal of excess nail length and gross shaping. The finer side is for smoothing and fine shaping.

• Metal files also have a tip that can clean under the nail.• One way to maintain a consistent fingernail length is through periodic

(twice a week) filing.• Sometimes it can be easier to maintain the file stationary and move your

finger back and forth instead.• Nail rotor clipper may be more comfortable for some individuals to trim

nails

Fig 3: Metal Files

Fig 1: Pumice stone

Fig 4: Nail Rotor Clipper

Fig 2: Emery Board


3. Cuticle Care Is Important

Healthy cuticles go hand in hand with healthy nails. The cuticle is the composition of skin that connects to the nails. The cuticle covers the cells that help to grow and build your nails. It also acts as a protective barrier. Not caring for the cuticles can lead to unhealthy nails and in the worst case scenario, bad cuticle care could cause infections. Here are some tips for cuticles care:

• Use an orange stick and cuticle remover cream.• An orange stick is normally made from wood, has a pointed end

for cleaning under the nail, and a flat end for cuticle care. Orange sticks are available in all pharmacies.

• Apply cuticle remover cream around the base of each nail.• Push the cuticle back gently on each finger with the flat end of the

orange stick or with the fingernail of the opposite hand.• Leave the cuticle cream on for three minutes.• Wash the cream off with a nail brush, soap, and water.• Dry your hands and push the cuticle back gently once again, this time with a hand towel or face cloth.• Apply hand lotion.

Please note: Do not use nail clippers or scissors to trim the cuticles. Clippers or scissors can make cuts and breaks in the cuticle or skin at the base of the nail which could become infected

Fig 5: orange stick


This year, the SAVH library held a short story writing competition, the third installation of its kind in recent years, for clients of SAVH. The culmination of events came on 25 November 2017, when the results of the competition were announced in a little prize-giving ceremony, attended by the participants, their supporters, members of SAVH executive committee and staff, as well as volunteers. Of special note, the event was also attended by 2 of our 3 judges for the competition. All 3 judges were from the journalism line, with 2 of them sharing tips on writing at the event. The results were announced after the winning entries and their authors had been introduced and the sharing and comments on the entries by the judges. The Guest of Honour, Mr Ali Daud, Chairman of the Rehabilitation Sub-Committee & member of the SAVH Executive Committee, presented the prizes to the winners who attended the ceremony, and token of appreciation to the judges.

The results of the competition were as follows:-1st prize: Ms Siti Rossaliza bte Rosli, “Life’s Adventure”2nd prize: Mr Saseedaran Nair @ Kris Nair, “Eclipse of the Son”3rd prize: Ms Chin Sea Mei, “The Struggles of My Life”

Consolation prizes were also awarded as follows:-a) Mr Bernard Chew Kim Hock, “Things Fall Apart”b) Ms Neena d/o Unnikrishna Marar, “Let Me Hold Your Hand Down Memory Lane”c) Mr Tan Meng Pin, “A Loss of Vision Journey”

Congratulations to the winners! A big thank you to the 3 judges, Ms Mary Kwang, Ms Lynn Seah and Mr Walton Morais, for their hard work in judging the entries. We would also like to extend our thanks to the volunteers (Jade, Jun Heng, Yu Cheng and Hao Jia) who helped to make this event a memorable and successful one.

SAVH Short Story Writing Competition 2017Chong Kwek Bin


Competition

9173 1964 6251 4331 ext 163/164 [email protected]

Mobile Massage Team

Our friendly crew is made up of visually impaired masseurs, who are certified to knead your stress away. Visit our centre, invite us to your office or engage us for your events. Whether you’re 5 or 95, make us a part of your health regime and you’ll be creating opportunities for these abled individuals to help themselves too.

Operating Hours

Weekdays 10am - 6pm

(6pm - 8pm slots availablefor advanced booking)

Weekends & Public Holidays9am - 6pm

Closed1st & 2nd day of Chinese New Year

In-House

Head & Shoulders$10 for 20 mins $15 for 30 mins

Foot Reflexology$10 for 20 mins $15 for 30 mins

Full Body Non-OilAcupressure$40 for 60 mins

Massage RatesOn-Site



(There is a minimumrequirement of 5sessions per massuerper visit)

On-Site Hourly

1-Hour Session$55 per masseur


Sessions 3 Hours or Longer$35 per masseur

9173 1964 6251 4331 ext 163/164 [email protected]

Mobile Massage Team

Our friendly crew is made up of visually impaired masseurs, who are certified to knead your stress away. Visit our centre, invite us to your office or engage us for your events. Whether you’re 5 or 95, make us a part of your health regime and you’ll be creating opportunities for these abled individuals to help themselves too.

Operating Hours

Weekdays 10am - 6pm

(6pm - 8pm slots availablefor advanced booking)

Weekends & Public Holidays9am - 6pm

Closed1st & 2nd day of Chinese New Year

In-House



Full Body Non-OilAcupressure$40 for 60 mins

Massage RatesOn-Site



(There is a minimumrequirement of 5sessions per massuerper visit)

On-Site Hourly



Sessions 3 Hours or Longer$35 per masseur

INING IN THE ARKD

presented by

Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped

Lunch & Dinner

Monday to Saturday

$15

Excluding public holidays

Soup, main course, desser�, coffee/tea

For st�dents & accompanying teachers

Will food taste the same in totaldarkness?

Abandon your vision. Step into theshoes of the blind. Be reacquaintedwith your other senses and get toknow your servers and what life islike for them.

How can a visually impaired personserve a meal?

A reservation is required. Call 6251 4331 ext 167 or email us [email protected].

$30 & $38 respectively

(All dishes are halal)

D

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