WHITE CANE DAY

White Cane Day

White Cane Day is a national observance in the United States, celebrated on October 15 of each year since 1964. The date is set aside to celebrate the achievements of people who are blind or visually impaired and the important symbol of blindness and tool of independence, the white cane.

St. Nicholas’ Home Penang organized the White Cane Day celebration on the 9th of October 2019 from 8.00am to 11.30am. This year was a continuation in exploring Penang Sentral Butterworth with blind and visually impaired participants. They were escorted by staff from St. Nicholas` Home on a chartered bus, taking a ferry to cross to the mainland, followed by a stopover to KTM train and bus station for orientation and mobility. This was for the participants to familiarise themselves with the new transportation hub. Staff from MRCB, KTM and Rapid took part in this exercise with approximately 80 visually impaired participants.

The objective of White Cane Day is to raise public awareness of blindness and visual impairment, sighted guide and hands-on training on how to guide the blind safely. The event was successfully held with the participation and effort of our staff, National Council For The Blind Malaysia (NCBM), partners and volunteers.