Taking the first step

A journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step, said Mr Kua Cheng Hock, an inspirational figure to the low-vision community of Singapore, earlier today.

The businessman who has blazed a path for the blind and low vision in Singapore, urged Macular Degeneration Society members to take their maiden steps to improve their lives and embrace technology to make low vision a nuisance, but not a handicap.

In a 2-hour long talk at the National University of Singapore, Mr Kua, who set up the Guide Dogs for the Blind Singapore society, candidly shared his life experiences and the struggles he had to go through to make this city state more friendly to the blind. From lobbying for guide dogs to be allowed on public buses to urging telcos to offer priority to the blind when it comes to low-vision mobile phones, he has been at the forefront of the push for greater rights to the visually handicapped.

Mr Kua has always been a strong advocate for independent living and mobile lifestyle for the blind, and he believes that with the advanced technology now, there should be little to hold back the visually handicapped from embracing as active and fulfilling a lifestyle as possible.

In particular, he shared with the 20 MDS members on the benefits that the Apple iPhone 3GS have brought to his life. While blind users had to pay extra in the past for software to make computers and phones usable, the iPhone is a device that is ready for the visually handicapped from the get go.

The phone comes with a built-in "Voice-Over" function that reads out what he selects on the menu. Mr Kua, accompanied by his adorable guide dog Kendra, also demonstrated the "TransSGuide" application which can be downloaded for free onto the phone. The application tells Mr Kua when a bus is arriving as well as the location of the nearest bus stop. The built-in Global Positioning System of the iPhone also helps him to navigate about Singapore.

A light refreshment was served after the talk, allowing the members to further interact with Mr Kua and learnt more tips on how to optimise technology to serve our needs.