Good Bye 2020, Hello 2021

We don't really know what we can expect from this coming year, but maybe from the experience we gained during 2020, together we can keep up our vision for a better future and move further ahead. For some of us, I also wish that we can get out of our - also emotional - isolation and use whatever is in our power to stay connected with our families, friends and other people around us who care about us.

Even though everything was basically very limited for most of us, the Malta Society of the Blind kept working behind the scenes for the blind and visually impaired in the Maltese society. And some nice things happened, which we hope will continue and extend in 2021.

Let's just mention a few highlights:


MSB in the Comunity
The committee officers have been in touch with the members many more times than before.
Calls for assistance, guidance or buying of talking gadgets increased this last year; all this to the members and to all other blind/visually impaired persons requesting our attention.


MSB in the Media
Besides Facebook, we have been live on the radio and TV stations.
In near future, on Tuesday 4th January 2021, one of the officers will be on TVM on "Illum ma' Steph" at about 5.30pm and on "Popolin" at about 7.30pm.


The Banknote of the Senses. Touch with your eyes, look with your hands.
The Central Bank of Malta gave MSB members the oportunity to have a "hands-on" experience with this exciting book for blind/visually impaired people and will order a copy to be available in Malta.


Xmas Activities
Xmas 2020 had to be different, without the usual Xmas Lunch. Therefore MSB organized a Raffle for its members and their families/friends to keep the spirit of the season up. The draw of the raffle will be on 20th January 2021.


Fundraising
MSB got quite a nice amount of donations, also via PayPal generated through an unusual video, specifically produced for MSB by a German YouTuber.
MSB needs your help to keep up with the expenses mainly postage, stationery and printing resulting from our activities.



Happy New Year
and
Stay Safe! 

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Santa came from Germany. What was in his bag?

Santa came from Germany. In his bag: "The Maltese Falcon" in 11 minutes. Playmobil-ized video version (with English subtitles) of the famous crime novel by Dashiell Hammett, produced by the popular German YouTuber Michael Sommer. 

With this video Michael supports our fundraising via PayPal which started this month.
Please share with your friends.

Michael Sommer is a philologist, dramaturg and creator of "Sommers Weltliteratur to go" [English charnel: "Sommer's World Literature to go"], and winner of the Grimme Online Award 2018.

 

 

@sommersworldliterature @sommersweltliteratur #sommersweltliteraturtogo @maltasb #maltasocietyoftheblind

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Don't Miss This on 20th December at 8pm

Ġulbiena – A Radio Panto in the Dark

 

By Teatru Malta

Time:    8PM

Date:    20th December 2020

Location:   XFM
                   Calypso

                   Magic Malta 

                   Malta's Heart

 

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Merry Xmas 2020

 

 Dear Member / Friend,

This year has been a very difficult one for everybody, but most so for the blind/visually impaired persons. Many refrained from attending the Day Centre and many were unable to be taken out for a walk or sit on their porch and talk to all passers by. All had to wear the mask which made it so much painful. And we had to live with the thought that the risk for us to get the virus because of our intrinsic vulnerability was at a high rating. The Society had to refrain from organizing get together groups, outings, the Annual General Meeting and above all had to cancel the Christmas/New Year buffet lunch.

The committee has been busy in making contacts with many of you and assisting you where at all possible; giving advice and getting talking gadgets from UK for all but especially newly blind persons, etc. 

We had to boost your morale somehow this Christmas. We are therefore organizing a raffle with so many gifts for the winners. This will help us to renew our contacts and get to talking with each other again. It will unite us again as a group who believe in giving support to each other, whoever you are and whatever the disability that you have.
So we encourage you to join in and participate, speak to your friends and share your love with each other.

At the same time we remind you to please not forget to renew your membership.
You will get two raffle tickets for your Eur 10 membership. You can get more tickets for your self or for your friends at Eur 5 each.
You can find more information in our Raffle post.

We take this opportunity to give you our love and a big hug for Christmas.
Yours sincerely,

The Committee,
The Malta Society of the Blind.

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Malta Society of the Blind - Xmas Raffle

 

The Malta Society of the Blind will have a New Year's Raffle for their members as well as families and friends of members.

 

What is in the raffle?

1    Espresso machine	|        6    Mini pandoro
1    Toaster	|        4    Mini pandoro
1    Cup level indicator	|        1    Paper money detector
1    Cup level indicator	|        1    Women’s watch
1    Cup level indicator	|        1    Man’s watch
4    Mulled wine	|        1    Man’s watch
5    Proseco/Spumante	|      10    Mini Panettone
4    Proseco/Spumante	|        8    Mini Panettone
4    Gluten free Pandoro	|        6    Gluten free Pandoro
6    Marrons Glaces	|        3    Assorted toffee jars
1    Christmas tin set	|        4    pkts Farsons soft drinks
€40  Car petrol/diesel	|        1    Chivas Rigal whisky
€30  Car petrol/diesel	|        2    Wine bottles
€30  Car petrol/diesel	|        2    Wine bottles
€30  Car petrol/diesel	|        2    Wine bottles

What are the conditions?

The conditions are as follows:

1. Those who pay the EUR 10.00 fee for a new or renewed membership will receive two (2) tickets for the raffle.
2. Additional tickets can be bought by members and non-members for EUR 5.00 per ticket.
3. The raffle will be until 15th January 2021.
4. Fees for membership and tickets are to be paid by cheque to
   
        Malta Society of the Blind
        81 Brighella Street
        Santa Venera SVR 1135
   
   
5. Persons need to phone Ms Grace Tirchett at +356 21665247 after sending in the cheque in order to be given/select their tickets.
   Please note that tickets will not be sent out by mail, just registered with Ms Grace Tirchett.
   

 

 

Good luck! 

 

The Malta Society of the Blind

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Your Support for a Vision in the Dark

Support us. For a vision in the dark.

Your support for blind/visually impaired children and grown-ups will help numerous children and grown-ups with sight loss in Malta to have a vision in their rather dark lives.
They need help, because their daily activities are often restricted. And also because assistive tools are expensive and not easily affordable for these persons in need.
You can help to make their lives more autonomous, livable, and joyful by supporting the Malta Society of the Blind.

The Malta Society for the Blind provides solutions and fights for the rights of blind/visually impaired persons for accessibility to all aspects of life, including education, work and society nationally and in partnership with European and international organizations. 

Be a partner in this initiative. With your help, blind and visually impaired persons will get a voice for their needs; so your support will also help to equip kindergartens, schools, workplaces, and a number of individuals with highly needed, yet expensive assistive technology and specifically trained professionals.

Thank you for your consideration to share our vision.

 

The Malta Society for the Blind

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How to support?

Please choose your preferred option:

1. Click the "Donate" button above,

or

2. Send a cheque to;

     Malta Society of the Blind
     81 Brighella Street
     Santa Venera SVR 1135
     Malta

or

3. Send an SMS to (Malta only)

• 50617360 : €2.33 
• 50618907 : €6.99 
• 50619207 : €11.65

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White Cane Day Celebration 2020

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

White Cane Day 2020 is different... 

 

Talk instead of Walk.  

We do not see the White Cane Day walk this year, but its message is nevertheless present. 

For many years, the Malta Society of the Blind (MSB) together with the Malta Guide Dog Foundation (MGDF), which was founded by the Malta Society for the Blind (MSB), the Gozo Aid for the Visually Impaired (GAVI) and the Torball Society for the Blind, organized  a walk through Valletta's Republic Street. A group of visually impaired persons walking with their white canes or guide dogs to mark the International White Cane Day, aimed to create more public awareness for the obstacles blind or partially sighted people are facing in their daily life and striving for more solutions to improve accessibility, integration and inclusion.

This is not only about more accessible infrastructure, which already saw some improvements over the last years, but it is also about understanding, acceptance and integration of VIP (Visually Impaired People) in social, educational and work environments.

This in mind, the two organizations, while constantly asking the authorities to provide solutions, give their advice in solution finding processes, and provide training in independent living skills including household tasks and inner city maneuvering.

This year, as gathering for the annual White Cane Day walk is not possible, MSB and MGDF want to take another route to and reach out and encourage more people to seek advice and learn skills for independent living.

 

Talk about White Cane

 And Orientation & Mobility  (O&M) Training 

During the O&M training, a professional O&M trainer will teach the blind or visually impaired various techniques to safely and independently orient themselves and move/travel around.

Learning to use the white cane is one aspect of the training.

One of MSB's members, who asked for this training, will - coincidentally - have her first lesson in the week of the White Cane Day. She would like to share her experience and impressions in an (audio) blog to help others to learn more about this kind of training and overcome potential hesitation to ask and learn new skills.  

Find the introduction (audio) post on SoundCloud (https://soundcloud.com/jutta-miroiu-dunker/sets/)
or on the  Malta Society of the Blind Facebook page. 

Read more...

Sunu Band

Sunu Band. Obstacle detection using ultrasound.

This wrist-worn device can be used in addition to your cane or guide dog to help you to protect your body from running into obstacles.

The Sunu Band uses ultrasonic technology to detect obstacles in your way and gives haptic feedback, i.e. vibration, which will become more intense the closer you get to an object.
It works best above hip level, therefore it is not meant to substitute your cane or guide dog.

For example, the Sunu Band can detect plants or branches of a tree or signs being in your way. I considered it quite impressive that the device can detect a barrier strap spanned at about 1 meter height between to poles, which you might not be able to become aware of using your cane only.


The company also offers the Sunu app for this device to adjust some settings, The free app is available for iOS and Android.
There will more features in the future. On their website, Sunu currently announces a navigation app to come soon...


Find more information on the Sunu Website.
Also have a look at the review in Sam Seavey's video about the Sunu Band on his YoutTube channel "The Blind Life".

With USD 299, the Sunu Band device is (unfortunately) a bit pricey.
Using the Coupon Code offered in the video will give a 10% discount.

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Quick info by Jutta Miroiu-Dunker
- IT Coordinator at Malta Society of the Blind -
July 2020

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Microsoft Soundscape

3D Audio Map for the Visually Impaired

Quick evaluation by Jutta Miroiu-Dunker
- IT Coordinator at Malta Society of the Blind -
April 2020

I just learned about Soundscape. This app, which is currently available for iOS (iPhone, iPad) only, sounds like a new dimension in developments for visually impaired people  to find their way when they are out and about.

The idea is to receive 3D audio signals via an audio headset while walking around. One would set audio beacons and get information about the location of the desired destination as well as on significant points on the way. This kind of information could, e.g., include info on parking lots, shops, gardens, and even steps..., 

This is probably more worthwhile for the techies around o check further into and have it tried out on an iPhone or iPad. 

For now, the app seems to be available in USA, Canada and UK. 

More information can be found at the following links: 
Microsoft Research 
Microsoft Soundscape Features

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DETAILS

Current Version

2.2.1

Updated

Apr 1, 2020 

We have some useful changes in this release to make your use of the audio be

Installations

n/a

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Operating System

iOS

12.0 or later

Size

257.9M

Price

FREE

Download

iOS: App Store

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WeZoom

Magnifier and Low Vision Aid for Android

Great Magnifier

I just found WeZoom, a really nice, clean magnification app to support people with low vision.. 

The app was developped by visually impaired persons for visually impaired persons, and they decided to give it to the public for FREE.

Quick evaluation by Jutta Miroiu-Dunker
- IT Coordinator at Malta Society of the Blind -
March 2020

PROs

No ads & no 

No cluttering extra

Easy zoom-in / zoom-out

Several color filters

Freeze picture option

Share photo option

Adjustable settings

CONs

./.

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DETAILS

Current Version

2.0.3

Updated

January 6, 2020

Installations

10,000+

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Operating System

Android

4.2 and up

Size

2.0M

Price

FREE no ads

Download

Android: Google Play

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Envision AI

Text and Handwriting Recognition and mucn more...

Good Tool

Envision AI is just the best app I could find until now. Reads my documents, even handwritten notes, in various languages. I love this app. 

Envision AI is also available for Apple and can be downloaded from the App Store. The Apple version is even more advanced.

 Quick evaluation by Jutta Mirou-Dunker
- IT Coordinator at Malta Society of the Blind -
March 2020

PROs

Automatic multi-lingual text recognition & speech output

(for Latin letters based languages and using your installed TTS engine)

Instant text recognition via camera

Recognition of even odd font styles

Handwriting recognition with pretty good results

Document recognition (via capture photo)

Share, Copy & Save of recognized text in Document mode

Face recognition

Online and Offline recognition options

Recognition of text on digital displays (TV, monitor, etc.

CONs

Scene recognition leaves space for improvments

Some annoying sound while processing 

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DETAILS

Current Version

1.3.9

Updated

March 30, 2020

Installations

50,000+

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Operating System

Android -5.0 and up

iOS - 10.0 or later 

Size

Varies with device

Price

FREE 
in-app purchase / subscriptions

Download

Android: Google Play 
iOS: App Store

Read more...