The Sensory Engagement Programme is an innovative cross-border project, which received £1.86 million worth of funding through the EU's INTERREG IVA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).
The project brings together four of the largest organisations providing support services for deaf and blind people across Northern Ireland and Ireland; The Royal National Institute of Blind People [RNIB NI], Action on Hearing Loss [formerly RNID], the National Council for the Blind of Ireland [NCBI] and Deafhear.
Finding Your Feet Residential July 2012
On 3 July, a group of 10 blind and partially sighted people, together with six companions, attended a 'Finding Your Feet' residential in the Armagh City Hotel. These residentials are aimed at people who are either recently diagnosed or whose personal circumstances have changed and who are now struggling to come to terms with their sight loss.
Eight workshops were facilitated by staff from both RNIB NI and the Southern Health and Social Care Trust, and covered not only the practical but also the emotional challenges that sight loss can bring.
It was not all hard work - other activities included relaxation, a guided history tour of Armagh city and a chance to join in a bit of craic at a country and western music tribute show.
Some comments from participants include:
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"I was not aware of things that were available"
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"My partner's attitude has changed"
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"A very enjoyable and life changing programme"
As with all Finding Your Feet participants, we hope to continue offering other programmes of interest that people can get involved with, over the next twelve months.
Our next 'Finding Your Feet' residential will be held in October 2012 (dates to be confirmed). These workshops are free as they are funded by the EU's INTERREG IVA Programme and delivered by RNIB NI's Sensory Engagement Programme team. If you are interested or would like any further information contact:
Danny McSherry, SEP Project CoOrdinator, RNIB NI.
Tel: 028 9032 9373
Mobile: 079 4071 8434.
Email: danny.mcsherry@rnib.org.uk
"Go For It" Residential
A group of six adults who were either blind or partially sighted, went to the Share Holiday Village (Fermanagh) to take part in our "Go For It" residential.
This residential was designed to:
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Promote Positive thinking
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Facilitate physical exercise
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Provide users with techniques to manage stressful situations
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Equip participants with skills to set achievable goals
At the beginning of the residential the members of the group were asked to outline their hopes/expectations and their fears for the trip.
Top of the list of expectations were, increase self confidence, experience something new, learn new skills, understand each others sight loss better and to have fun.
The things that concerned the group most were loss of independence in a new place, whether they would all be getting on at the end of the trip and that they might not find the sessions useful.
We ran a series of workshops facilitated by RNIB NI staff and Poilin Quinn, a complementary Therapist. As well as activity sessions led by instructors from the Share Holiday Village.
The participants all engaged with every aspect of the course including using their free time to visit the gym and swimming pool as well as playing boccia and tandem cycling.
It wasn't all hard work however, as on the final evening the whole group went to the Don Carragh Hotel for a meal and a chance to relax after a challenging three days.
Over the course of the residential, the expectations of the group were met through activities such as trying go karting for the first time. They also developed skills in the areas of relaxation and positive thinking as well as setting themselves a goal and planning out how to achieve it. All came away feeling they had learnt something useful that would help them and they really enjoyed trying new activities.
Finding Your Feet
On the weekend of 9 - 11 September the Sensory Engagement Programme held another 'Finding Your Feet' event. Once again this programme proved to be a very fulfilling and informative opportunity for blind and partially sighted people from both sides of the border in the Fairways hotel, Dundalk. This is the latest in a series of these events and the feedback has been extremely positive.
Ten blind and partially sighted people, from the Southern health & social care trust area, Dundalk, Drogheda and Omagh along with their partners attended this particular event.
Participants took part in a range of workshops exploring some of the challenges and barriers faced by people with sight loss:
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Getting out and about
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Daily living
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Emotional impact of sight loss not only on those who experience it but also immediate family and friends.
Those who attended also enjoyed finding out about:
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Accessible computer technology
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Downloading audio books
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Audio description
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Benefits advice
As well as sessions on finding fun, relaxation and Guide Dog's Sighted Volunteer scheme.
Our thanks to the Fairways hotel, Dundalk for hosting another successful Finding Your Feet event.
EyeT4All
An EyeT4All computer experience day was held in the Canal Court hotel, Newry on Friday 23 September. The event was run by the British Computer Association.
This was a basic awareness course for people with little or no experience of computers, using the Dolphin 'Guide' speech programme. Throughout the day a lot of topics were covered from sending and receiving emails, to listening to radio stations via the internet in Australia?
All present had a good day furthering their individual computer journey. One lady who is experienced in another screen reading software found Guide to be very user friendly.
Another person who had purchased a computer at Christmas now felt confident enough to go home and take it out of the box. As previously she'd had a fear of using it.
Six blind and partially sighted people attended along with one other partially sighted volunteer who assisted the computer users on the day.
Contact us
For more information on the Sensory Engagement Programme for blind and partially sighted people, in the Newry/Dundalk area, Contact:
Danny McSherry
RNIB NI Project Coordinator
Tel: 079 4071 8434
Email: danny.mcsherry@rnib.org.uk
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