14 July 2005

Blind Woman Tours India with Dog, Discusses Visual Disabilities

Joyce Kane hopes to raise awareness for the blind in India

By Brittany Sterrett
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Imagine a month-long, all-expenses-paid trip to India -- but not being able to see the sights.  That is exactly what Joyce Kane is doing. Kane, president of the National Federation of the Blind Southern Connecticut chapter, began July 10 a State Department-sponsored trip to Bombay, Madras, Calcutta and New Delhi, where she is speaking about how the Americans with Disabilities Act has enabled her to lead a fulfilling life. 

Accompanied by her guide dog, Corey, Kane said she is being sent as “an example of what the United States’ policy is for blind people and what they’ve provided for [her].”  She said she hopes to “set an example of what a blind person can do.”

The program was launched in response to newly created institutions that will train service animals in India.  Kane is visiting some of these centers and schools for the blind to share her experiences of having a guide dog in the United States.

Kane was selected as a speaker for this trip based on her work in the United States in the area of visual-disabilities advocacy.  Having awoken blind eight years ago after undergoing open-heart surgery, Kane began to rebuild her life without sight.  Since then she has become the secretary of the National Federation of the Blind’s Diabetic Action Network. 

She also has spoken at pharmacy schools, talking to students about how to help blind diabetics handle their diabetes, and was involved in a program to help the blind independently manage and understand their prescriptions.  Kane said she has scheduled a meeting at an Indian hospital to discuss these subjects.

During her tour, Kane is highlighting the Americans with Disabilities Act, which provides disabled Americans with the opportunities to live comfortably and receive fair and equal treatment from society.

Under this law, it is illegal for any disabled person to be discriminated against in the workplace.  Americans who live with a disability are entitled to modified work schedules and facilities, readers and interpreters when necessary and other reasonable accommodations, such as permission to bring service animals into buildings. 

Kane plans to raise awareness about the needs of the blind by explaining how this law has enabled her to live a normal life: she is able to work, travel and maintain an active lifestyle despite her disability.

Another aspect of her trip is to spread knowledge about the use of guide dogs and other service animals.  India, despite having an estimated 14 million blind people, makes little use of service animals, instead relying on family members for assistance.  Although guide dogs are beginning to become an option for Indians, society has not yet adapted to their presence.

In order for her guide dog Corey to be allowed to accompany Kane on India's airlines and in hotels, the U.S. government had to write a series of letters to the Office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities in India.  The final “okay” was given only two weeks before Kane’s scheduled departure, a critical factor in determining whether the speaking tour would happen.  According to a State Department official, other passengers “reacted positively to the dog’s presence.”

“I feel that I’ve taken a big step before even putting foot on there -- that we’ve brought attention to the airlines in having them allow my guide dog to travel with me,” Kane said.

The tour, which will last until August 10, will be a forum for discussion and comparison of treatments of the blind in the United States and India.  It will provide an opportunity for ideas to be exchanged and advice given on how to improve visual disabilities programs.

Kane added that she looks forward to “seeing India through dark eyes…going over to India and hearing it through my ears, smelling it through my nose, experiencing it in my world of darkness.” 

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)