In Touch Folgen

We revisit the topic of how the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine is impacting its visually impaired citizens. We speak to married couple Denys and Olga Petrov who evacuated to Poland soon after the war began. They tell us about how they got across the border with a small child, a pregnancy and... seven animals.A few weeks ago, we spoke to Olga Mahler about how she travelled nearly 10,000 miles across the world from Australia to help visually impaired refugees with food and accommodation once they have crossed the border into Poland. Olga attended a boarding school for the blind in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. We caught up with her to see how her blind parents, who refused to leave their home in Ukraine, are getting along and how her aid efforts have developed.Presenter: Peter White Producer: Beth Hemmings Production Coordinator: Liz PooleWebsite image description: pictured is two young women; one is guiding a visually impaired woman with a white cane across the border from Ukraine into Poland. Photograph taken at the Medyka border crossing in eastern Poland, on March 9, 2022. They are both wearing winter coats, hats and scarves and small snowflakes are falling around them.

Breathe in...and out. Namaste. With the global mental wellness market reaching around $120 billion in recent years, here lies the truth that in the West, many are finding the daily incorporation of mindfulness techniques highly beneficial to reduce stress and to become more present in daily life. With its ever growing popularity, we wanted to hear from visually impaired people who are making a living within this industry. We speak to yoga instructor, Claire Miller, we put Peter into the healing hands of Nick Mulryan who performs a reiki session on him and we speak to Marc Norton who demonstrates his work in the area of sound healing. We also explore how viable the wellness industry is as a career for people with visual impairments. Presenter: Peter White Producer: Beth Hemmings Production Coordinator: Liz PooleWebsite image description: pictured is Peter (on the left) and Nick Mulryan (on the right) in Nick's office at The No.1 Pain Relief Clinic in Buxton. Nick is holding an A4 piece of paper that details the 7 major chakras of the body. On the wall behind Peter to the left, hangs two images of the human skeleton with various labels branching off. Behind the pair are two shelves with towels and various boxes on. To the right of Nick there is a desk and a small shelf with two medical models of the human foot, which show the bones and muscles inside.

Vision impairment organisations have launched a new education framework called The Curriculum Framework for Children and Young People with Vision Impairment (CFVI). Its main aim is to define and clarify how those between the ages of 0-25 are to receive specialist skill development, by whom and to recommend best practices across the board so that all visually impaired children have equal access to education. We speak to the RNIB's Head of Education, Caireen Sutherland about what this all really means. The Disabled Student Allowance (or DSA), is a scheme that visually impaired students at university can apply for to help fund specialist equipment, apply for mobility support around campus and get help with services like note takers. But, in a report assembled by Life Peer Lord Chris Holmes, it was found that just 29% of the number of students with a known disability were actually receiving DSA support. Moreover, those students who have accessed it have reported that the process is extremely slow and convoluted. We speak two of those students, Ramneek Ahluwalia and Paul Goddard and to Lord Holmes about the recommendations he has put to Government to improve the scheme. The DSA is administered by The Student Loans company who are soon to be releasing the final details of a procurement plan, set to also improve the overall service of the DSA. We ask David Wallace, the SLC's deputy CEO, about what this will entail.Presenter: Peter White Producer: Beth Hemmings Production Coordinator: Liz PooleWebsite image description: pictured is a young girl with pigtails and pink glasses. She is playing with some colourful braille blocks. The helping hand of an adult is directing her fingers along the braille markings.