On October 15, 1969, at the initiative of the National Federation of the Blind in the United States of America, the White Cane Safety Day was established. The history of this day begins in 1921. It was then that an Englishman, James Biggs, who had lost his eyesight, painted his cane white to differ from ordinary passers-by carrying canes. He advised other blind people to do the same. Only 10 years later, England began to provide visually impaired people with white canes. Then the white cane appeared in France and became a symbol of the blind man, a pass and a certificate that clearly demonstrates his/her status.
This Day is intended to remind the public that there are people around us who have physical limitations, calls on to assist them, to be supportive and tolerant towards them. “Tolerance, equality, integration” are the main words of the White Cane Safety Day.
Visually impaired people are those who have found the strength to live, work, be useful to society and their families. People are not always aware of the hardships that those who lost their health experience. The celebration of the White Cane Safety Day is the desire to understand people living among us, accept them as such, and if possible, provide them with all possible assistance or involvement.
The Donetsk People’s Republic has not stayed aside from the problems of visually impaired people. On the White Cane Safety Day, in the Republic, as in many countries of the world, different actions take place in order to attract the attention of the general public to the problems of social rehabilitation of persons with disabilities and their integration into society.
