Cape Town - The League of Friends of the Blind (Lofob) will this week be celebrating 90 years of service in helping those who are visually impaired and blind navigate the world, ultimately creating a sense of independence, particularly for those from at-risk communities.
Located in Klip Road, Grassy Park, the non-governmental organisation was formed on February 2, 1933, by accomplished violinist Isaac Jacobs, Reverend Arthur Blaxall and Eddie Ramsdale.
The original purpose of Lofob was to raise funds for the Athlone School for the Blind, which Jacobs and Blaxall also founded.
Jacobs, who was blind himself, could not access formal education at the only school for blind children in the Western Cape, the Worcester
School for the Blind, now the Pioneer School for the Visually impaired, as it was only for white children and there was no other school for black and coloured blind children at the time.
Lofob treasurer and 90-year celebration spokesperson Philip Bam said the organisation was formed out of a need to provide educational opportunities for blind children.
“Through the years Lofob served mostly visually impaired people from disadvantaged communities. It provided services to fill a huge gap in services to the left-behind communities. To this day, it continues to provide services to the poorest of the poor,” Bam said.
“Lofob’s services are grounded in the belief that blind people should not be excluded from mainstream society and the economy and it therefore moved from a charity to an organisation for development of human potential empowering blind people to become independent participants in society,” Bam said.
To commemorate the momentous occasion, a thanksgiving service will take place at the Methodist Church, 2nd Avenue, Grassy Park, from 9am on February 5. It will be at the Methodist Church where Isaacs had served as a lay preacher.
Bam said independent functioning was encouraged, forming the basis of all programmes.
“We pursue our mission of encouraging full integration in society. Blind people should not live apart.”
The organisation also supports visually impaired students at mainstream schools and tertiary institutions.
Lofob acting executive director Shahiemah Edwards said in general, services to the blind and visually impaired community in South Africa were scarce.
“Lofob is the only organisation in the Western Cape providing the range of services that we do. Our services are at no cost to clients.”
Lofob provides an early childhood development programme to children from birth; and independence training and psychosocial support to recently blinded youth and adults.
Services include orientation and mobility, braille, occupational therapy, social work, educational support, sports and wellness, and access to assistive devices.
Lofob supports 130 in-house clients and sees 280 clients access services during the year.
The organisation is largely dependent on donations from the public to augment the grant received by the Department of Social Development.
shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za