Sheneille Gayle's Testimonial

Hi ! My name is Sheneille and I am a member of the Jamaica Society for the Blind. Since late 2019, due to certain circumstances, I can only see light out of my eyes. Before this incident I was always on my phone and computer. When it happened, I was scared and thought “what am I going to do now?” 

By the grace of God my mother got in contact with one of her co-workers who had lost her sight and was able to use her phone and different technology.  She told us about the Jamaica Society for the Blind (JSB) and the services they offered including adjustment to blindness. These services included learning how to use a cane, computer and smartphone and how to read Braille. I was excited to meet JSB team and they turned out to be an amazing support system.  

Mrs. Wallace who is the Adjustment to Blindness Officer came to my house and taught me the basics of how to move around my household. She showed my mother how to be my sighted guide both inside and outside my house. I also learned how to use my cane while travelling on the road. Eventually, I was able to take the bus all the way up to the JSB which I visited regularly. The staff showed me how to use a computer screen reader so I could use Microsoft Word just like any sighted person. Daemion McLean taught me how to use the smartphone with screen reader and how can I forget Mr. Lawson and Mr. Harris who both taught me how to read Braille.   

My experience was awesome and in the matter of no time I was able to read up to Braille Grade Two. I can use my computer like a professional and my smartphone as well and I can walk and take my bus on the road just like any other sighted persons. At one point during my training, I was taking the bus to and from the JSB to do my computer and braille training all by myself.  

Today I share what I have learned from computer and smartphone training with others. I thank God for the JSB because if it wasn’t for them I would probably just be sitting at home sobbing. They have given me hope and pushed me to show the world that blindness does not limit you. With the right guidance and amount of motivation we can do just as much or even more than a sighted person with the right teaching.   One word of advice to any vision impaired or blind person in Jamaica who need some guidance but do not know the first step to take. 

Find the Jamaica Society for the Blind, sign up and become a member - they will change your life. 

I am Senator Floyd Morris, and I am a blind individual who has benefitted tremendously from the Jamaica Society for the Blind. 

I got blind in 1989 at the tender age of 20 and the only hope I had at that time was to anchor my faith, believe in God and seek some form of rehabilitation. The Jamaica Society for the Blind was the institution that I was recommended to by Reinsa Mills,  my dearly departed friend from RJR. When I went to the Jamaica Society for the Blind I learned to read and write Braille and daily mobility training that equipped me for the challenges of life. 

I restarted my education consequently at the Mico Evening College, went to the University of The West Indies and the rest is history as they say. Today, I am a senator in the Parliament of Jamaica, contributing to the transformation of the lives of persons with disabilities in Jamaica, the Caribbean, and the world as a member of the United Nations Committee on The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and leading the charge in terms of research on persons with disabilities in the Caribbean and Globally. All of this have been contributed to by the Jamaica Society for the Blind through the basic training and rehabilitation that was provided to me when I came to Kingston in 1991. 

This is an exceptional organization that is making its contribution to adult blind and visually impaired individuals in Jamaica. I urge my fellow Jamaicans, I urge those with means and resources to give and support the Jamaica Society for the Blind, because the support you give to the Jamaica Society for the Blind is properly administered, well spent and impactful in a meaningful way on the lives of some of the most vulnerable individuals within our society.

I urge you, support the Jamaica Society for the Blind. It is an institution of the highest integrity and efficiency. God bless you.