One Hour Disability Experience

One Hour Disability Experience

During the one-hour disability challenge, I chose to experience the disability of being blind. To ensure that I was blind, I placed some cotton squares over my eyes, which i held tight with black masking tape to prevent the cotton from falling. I also put on a pair of sunglasses to reinforce the inability to see. I conducted the exercise within our house and home compound. My cousin was within, and she, therefore, helped me in walking around. I held her elbow as she acted as the guide. Within the one hour, I tried to access my bedroom from outside the house. I also tried to use the bathroom and to access a grocery store that is not far from our home gate to buy some groceries. The experiences during the three undertakings were different, as outlined below. The activities equipped me with firsthand knowledge of the challenges that blind people experience in an attempt to live a normal life.

The first undertaking was to access my bedroom while coming from outside the house. That took place within the first 20 minutes. In most cases, I walked alone without the help of my cousin because being within my home compound, the environment and set up is very familiar. I would only request her assistance when stuck. Coming from the compound, I tried to access the door to our house, and it was not easy. When I reached near the wall of the house, I used my hands to locate the entry. That took me about 5 minutes. After finding the entrance, I easily walked through the corridors to the sitting room. Finding the route to my room was difficult. I knocked on a table, trying to access the passage to my room. I had to call my cousin for assistance. She took me to the corridor towards my bedroom, and I managed to access the room while supporting myself on the walls.

The cousin helped me to get outside the house. The next activity was to go to the nearby grocery store and buy some fruits. The store is just outside our compound, about 500 meters from our gate. I walked alone since I had a stick with me, though my cousin was beside me for guidance in case I lost the way. While on the road, I would hear some people sympathizing with my situation. Others would laugh at my staggering and say I walked like a drunkard.

In many cases, I veered off the road, but my cousin would get me back. On reaching the grocery store, the attendant was very friendly. She offered to help me select my items, but I chose to select them by myself. I could hardly locate the exact stack for particular commodities. I wanted to buy oranges, but after picking, the attendant found that I had mixed oranges with a few mangoes. The smell and shape of oranges helped me in selection. With the help of the cousin, we returned to the house. This experience was the most terrifying. I feared being knocked down by bicycles or vehicles. I could not cross the road alone. The exercise lasted 30 minutes.

Lastly, I tried to utilize the bathroom. The attempt was not very challenging. I walked to the bathroom by supporting myself on the walls. However, it was hard to locate my towel from my bedroom. After reaching the bathroom, I managed to turn on the shower and even the switch for the warm water since I was very familiar with the bathroom. I then unmasked my eyes, and that marked the end of the disability experience. It took 15 minutes for the bathroom exercise.

During the whole experience, accessing the grocery was the most horrifying and challenging scenario. I learned that blind people experience a lot of insecurities in public if not well supported. I worried about the cars and bicycles knocking me down. I also feared to collide with other pedestrians. In choosing the groceries, I learned groceries and other commodities should also be labeled in braille to help the blind in identifying them. Alternatively, the stores can have attendants to help the blind where necessary. The experiences within the house were less challenging since the environment was familiar. I understood that the blind are more comfortable within familiar environments.