‘Child Blindness In Pakistan Often Avoidable’

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29716, 9 January 1962, Page 2

‘Child Blindness In Pakistan Often Avoidable’

“Blind children in Pakistan today are generally more normal than their counterparts iii Australia or New Zealand, whose problem is largely congenital.” This is the opinion of an English woman, Miss Marjory E. Fyson, founder and general secretary of the only Christian school for blind children in Pakistan, the four-year-old Sunrise Institute for the Blind in Lahore.

"At least two-thirds of the child blindness in present-day Pakistan could have been prevented through better living conditions," she said in Christchurch yesterday. “The completely neglected blind child is undoubtedly more easily educated than the over-coddled sightless child, who all too soon becomes a mere vegetable creature and utterly dehumanised.” Miss Fyson is spending three months’ holiday in New Zealand. She said that although there were other schools for the blind in both parts of Pakistan, the Lahore school was the only one in either India or Pakistan catering for non-Moslem or non-Hindu children. Six Teachers

Although run under the auspices of the Pakistan Christian Blind Society, the

school did cater for* children of non-Christian families. Only about half of the school’s pupils were of Christian origin.

Founded by the society, the school was staffed by six teachers, all Pakistanis. There were 30 children enrolled, the youngest aged six and the oldest 15. AU the children were boarders, who kept in touch with their families through an open visiting-hour system. The institute's greatest problem was not the organisation of the school or the selection of child entrants, but search for possible pupils. Although there was no dearth of suitable children—the incidence of blindness in East and West Pakistan was now estimated at about 350,000 from a population of 90 million—parental opposition and

ignorance was the greatest barrier. “We really have to dig up our pupils where we can. They won’t come of their own accord. But we don’t, of course, just take any children. We feel that at the age of six or seven they can better benefit from this Christian education,” said Miss Fyson. Perhaps an equally great problem was raising money to keep the institute in existence, Miss Fyson said. During her present tour she was investigating possibilities through New Zealand church organisations. Other of the school’s difficulties included the translation from Urdu into Braille of sufficient reading matter for the educational programme. It was also difficult to find suitable occupations for pupils leaving school. Miss Fyson has visited blind institutions in both New Zealand and Australia. She has also visited a brother. Lieutenant-Colonel J. H. Fyson. of Wellington. Miss Fyson will be presented with the Pakistani order “Sitaire-I-Khidmat” (the equivalent of the Order of the British Empire) at a ceremony in Wellington. The High Commissioner for Pakistan in Australia and New Zealand (Mr A. S. Herbert) is expected to officiate. The award was made for Miss Fyson’s work at the school by the Pakistani Government last Match.