Today is World Sight & White Cane Day

President Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has by Proclamation declared Wednesday, October 15, 2014 as World Sight and White Cane Safely Day and is to be observed throughout the Republic as a Working Holiday.

The Proclamation says the Liberian National Association of the Blind incorporated (LNAB) and the Blind Community as a whole will join their counterparts worldwide in celebrating this year’s World Sight and World White Cane Safety Day.

According to the proclamation, the observance will take place under the Theme:”An Accessible And Inclusive Society For All Including the Blind”

The proclamation further discloses that since the invention of the White Cane, it has become a significant symbol for blindness which requests courtesy from the Police, Motorists and Pedestrians to give right of way to the blinds   including access to all public transports.

The Proclamation indicated that October 15 of each year has been set aside by the World Blind Union (WBU) and the African Union of Bind (AFUB) through United Nations convention held in the United States of America in 1975.  The proclamation also asserts that it is the sole responsibility of the Government of Liberia to recognize and protect the fundamental human rights of its citizens including the Blind.

The White Cane was invented in 1930 by Lion George Bonham of the Illinois Lion Club as a walking device for the blind to detect obstacles in their path and enable them move freely and independently, the proclamation further asserts.