CARE OF BLIND

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 859, 31 December 1929, Page 14

CARE OF BLIND

AUCKLAND AS GOOD AS OVERSEAS INSTITUTES MR. C. MACKENZIE’S TOUR At a conference at St. Duustan’s Hostel for the blinded sailors and soldiers held in England, particular reference was made of the work which was being done for the blind in New Zealand, and special mention was made of the fine work of the Commercial Travellers’ Blinded Soldiers’ Fund. Mr. Clutha Mackenzie, Director of the Jubilee Institute for the Blind, returned to Auckland by the Maunganui this morning. He attended the St. Dunstan’s Conference and afterward visited a large number of institutions in England and abroad for the education and employment of the civilian blind. As a result of the St. Dunstan’s training and of the after-care organisations in the various Dominions, together with the Government war pensions, it could be said that the blinded soldiers remained active and useful members of the community, busy about their work or hobbies and with pleasant homes. The conference urged the necessity for continued public support of the organisations caring for blinded soldiers. SOUND TRAINING Mr. Mackenzie took the opportunity to learn as much as possible of the methods followed by institutions abroad, and he found that the Auckland " Institute compared most fav ourably with all the best of them. Many institutions in England and abroad were old-fashioned and illequipped; others had established fine buildings set in beautiful grounds and with every modern convenience for the comfort of the inmates —social halls, gymnasiums and all facilities for sports. There was an air of happiness and contentment In such institutions. In all modern institutes for the blind those in charge realised the necessity and the soundness of training blind people In all departments of life as nearly as possible as sighted people were trained. It was noteworthy thy that the busiest and most successful workshops for the blind, and those in which the highest wages were paid, were conducted on ordinary business lines. HIVE OF INDUSTRY Today blind people put far more heart into their work when they knew it was to fill a definite need, and when they were not kept on limited oldfashioned lines which people might buy out of sympathy for them. In a modern institution in Glasgow, which had 800 blind men and women, Mr. Mackenzie found a hive of industry and many large orders were being executed for shipping companies, distilleries, hotels, hospitals and the wholesale trade. As far as Auckland is concerned, Mr. Mackenzie is of the opinion that there is still room for a considerable increase in output, both by the introduction of more modern equipment in one or two departments and by an increase in speed among the newer workers. Judging by the figures of modern British institutions, he would say that the workers had reached a wonderful degree of factory speed. It was really astonishing to watch them work. He found that the institutions in England were always ready to help with the fullest possible information, and he hoped he had established a liaison which would be of permanent benefit to the Auckland Institute. A number of the institutes were the proud possessors of amenities which we in New Zealand would like to have and might hope to get some day when funds permitted, he said. These were swimming baths, sports grounds, fully-equipped gymnasiums, etc. On the other hand, they were envious of New Zealand’s generous after-care provisions for financing the blind into business, houses and equipment, and of our fine residential buildings. Mr. Mackenzie mentioned that the trades followed at the Auckland Institute were basket-making, seagrass furniture, fruit punnets, ships’ fenders and coir fibre mats. Although he had visited institutes in England, France, Italy, Egypt and Australia he had found that fruit punnets were not manufactured anywhere else. Brushmaking, boot repairing and mattress making were the principal industries abroad.

In London this year good work was being done by several international committees, one of which had succeeded in bringing about the adoption of a universal Braille musical notation for tile blind. Formerly various .countries had their separate systems. Another committee had practically concluded the solution of the very difficult question of a universal Braille system for literary use, reading, writing, etc. The principal difficulty was the conclusion of an agreement between the British Empire, whicli had one type, and America, which had three. This was a great advance, and would mean that a far wider range of literature would be available for the blind, and much unnecessary duplication avoided.