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A WORD FROM LOFOB’S PRESIDENT
The League Of Friends Of the Blind continues to accept new challenges and once again this year rose to the occasion as we launched the training of Eye Care Community Health Workers. This project in collaboration with the Department of Health created opportunities for 18 unemployed matriculants. The official opening of our Low Vision Centre on World Sight Day in October will mark a further achievement in the extension of LOFOB services to meet the needs of the community we serve.
LOFOB also continues to enhance its work in the rural areas of the Western Cape and our last visit to the South Western Districts and the Karoo exposed more visually impaired people to LOFOB services. Our staff also learnt from the experiences and will adapt our work accordingly.
The need for marketing and awareness about our services and the people we serve, is being met through excellent work done by our blind Public Relations Officer. We responded to the challenge of mainstream education by offering an awareness programme at school and through support offered to blind learners and their families. We are working hard on the building of partnerships and it is quite encouraging to see how the interest in LOFOB is growing.
The new initiatives referred to above is being undertaken while we continue to provide independence development services of a high quality. Our Early Childhood Development Programme was also enhanced by the inclusion of visually impaired children with other disabilities in our daily programme.
The Lotto (National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund) has been a major empowering force as it enabled LOFOB to acquire the necessary resources to do our work. Our other faithful partners continue to strengthen our capacity. Our executive committee appreciates the faithfulness of long standing donors and wish to assure them all that their faith in our work is a great encouragement. The report of our Executive Director will list the donors. We are proud to report that we are financially viable and that our corporate affairs are of a high standard and that it meets the criteria as stipulated by the appropriate legislation.
On behalf of the general membership and governing committee, we congratulate and thank our staff under the able leadership of our Executive Director; our partners; faithful donors and our members on an excellent service to visually impaired people.
ERNEST JAMES
PRESIDENT
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