White canes for awareness of blindness

The National Federation of the Blind’s annual the White Cane Awareness Walk will be Sunday at 1 p.m., with activities from 2 to 4 p.m. It is being organized by the West Hawaii Chapter of the organization.

The obvious part of the day is a walk along Alii Drive, with the walkers all carrying or using white canes.

The main activities will be at Hale Halawai and include a chance for people to get more information on the group and eyesight.

This year, the Kailua-Kona Lions Club will build and managed an “obstacle course” of simple daily activities. It will be navigated with an eye mask and cane, instead of with visual cues. Some challenges will include moving in a line, going up and down steps or a ramp, and finding the way through a room, said Sally Hammond, president of the West Hawaii Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind.

The walk is solely to raise awareness and spread information, she said.

“It’s just another way to reach people in the community,” she said.

Despite their long existence, she said there are people out there who didn’t realize their ohana could benefit.

Hammond said they have people in their group with every level of sight, from blind to sighted members in the group. This includes some people with issues like macular degeneration, who expect to slowly go blind, she said.

One of the group’s goals is to be “the blind helping the blind,” she said.