Family looks to help blind locals build self-esteem, pursue
careers
While being blind is usually seen as a handicap Mary Church sees
it simply as a characteristic.
Family looks to help blind locals build self-esteem, pursue careers
While being blind is usually seen as a handicap Mary Church sees it simply as a characteristic.
Her mother, Kathleen Church, concludes that people who are blind can live their lives independently. She said she believes they can reach their personal goals and the blindness factor is irrelevant.
On Sept. 12, the Church family held a party of approximately 70 blind professionals, veterans, families and friends of blind citizens. A prominent sponsor of the event was the Lions Club, which is an international club that helps individuals who need glasses and the blind. They catered the event that the Church family held. Another organization that Mary is involved with is the National Federation of the Blind, and some of the speakers came from the organization. According to the NFB Web Site, “with more than 50,000 members the NFB is the largest and most influential membership organization of blind people in the United States.” Because of that, it’s not surprising that their motto is “Voice of the Nation’s Blind.”
When asked what made her decide to host the party, Kathleen noted that every year as a blind individual is an accomplishment, and knowledge is power. She wants Mary to be exposed to all of the possibilities that are out there, and for Mary to have the best life possible. She also wanted to show the people who don’t use walking sticks or sight dogs, but have low vision, that they shouldn’t be ashamed to be considered blind. They can still be doctors or lawyers if they want to be.
Kathleen will also have a booth at the San Benito County Fair this weekend for diabetes testing along with her family and a 4-H club because diabetes is one of the leading causes of death and a cause of blindness. She said when people with diabetes become blind they sometimes don’t know where to go. She said that she hopes the party gave them a deeper meaning, or sense of hope that they can lead successful lives.
Kathleen said she believes that people are all designed for a specific job and that they are all here for a reason. She wants to get more information on blind people out there because there are 17 low vision and blind people in San Benito County. She wants them to be recognized so that more people can become confident about their characteristic of being blind and achieve their dreams.
While the event took an entire year to plan, Mary said that it paid off greatly, and that she has gained back her confidence. She said that being able to socialize with others that are blind or people that are close to someone who is blind opened doors to what’s out there. She said she felt empowered to achieve her dream of becoming a civil rights lawyer. She became passionate about a law career after dealing with trouble at school. She had to contact lawyers to help with her case and an NFB lawyer gave a “riveting speech” that Mary found utterly inspiring.
Although she said she has high self esteem due to the party, she still faces discrimination at school. She said it is hurtful and hard to deal with but something that she faces because she is blind. Mary said the blind professionals party was “the best thing I’ve ever done to help the community,” and hopefully blind people are now viewed in a more positive way than before.
