As T&T marked its 49th an­niver­sary as a Re­pub­lic, the T&T Blind Wel­fare As­so­ci­a­tion (TTB­WA) stands proud­ly with the na­tion in cel­e­bra­tion.

Our Re­pub­lic, an­chored in dis­ci­pline, tol­er­ance, and pro­duc­tion, has come this far through col­lec­tive ef­fort.

To­day, blind and vi­su­al­ly im­paired cit­i­zens reaf­firm our readi­ness to con­tribute to na­tion-build­ing not as re­cip­i­ents of char­i­ty, but as ac­tive part­ners in a just and in­clu­sive so­ci­ety.

Be­yond the Dis­abil­i­ty Grant

Blind peo­ple are ca­pa­ble, re­source­ful, and de­ter­mined. With prop­er ed­u­ca­tion, work­place ac­com­mo­da­tions, and as­sis­tive tech­nol­o­gy such as screen read­ers, braille dis­plays and tac­tile graph­ics, we can work, in­no­vate, and lead across pro­fes­sions. We are not seek­ing pity or de­pen­den­cy. We de­mand op­por­tu­ni­ty, ac­cess, and eq­ui­ty.

Em­body­ing the Watch­words, Up­hold­ing the Mot­to

Our watch­words Dis­ci­pline, Tol­er­ance, and Pro­duc­tion re­flect our val­ues. Dis­ci­pline helps us sur­mount bar­ri­ers; tol­er­ance in­vites mu­tu­al re­spect; pro­duc­tion un­der­scores our con­tri­bu­tions to so­ci­ety. Our na­tion­al mot­to: “To­geth­er we as­pire, to­geth­er we achieve” is a clar­i­on call to in­clude every cit­i­zen in the Re­pub­lic’s jour­ney.

Feel­ing the flag, singing with pride

Though some among us have nev­er seen the red, white, and black of our na­tion­al flag, we feel its mean­ing. Red is our courage and sac­ri­fice, white our uni­ty and good­will, black our strength and re­silience. It is felt in spir­it, and we wave it with pride in our hearts.

As we sing our na­tion­al an­them, we echo lines that res­onate with our own jour­ney:

Here every creed and race find an equal place,

And may God bless our na­tion.

Equal­i­ty is more than lyrics, it is a promise we de­mand in ed­u­ca­tion, em­ploy­ment, ac­cess, and rep­re­sen­ta­tion.

And from our na­tion­al song, we draw in­spi­ra­tion:

God bless our na­tion

Of many var­ied races.

May we pos­sess that com­mon love

That binds and makes us one.

It un­der­scores our shared hu­man­i­ty and our hope for uni­ty in di­ver­si­ty.

Build­ing an in­clu­sive Re­pub­lic re­quires ac­tion

To tru­ly live out these words, sys­temic change is es­sen­tial:

Ac­ces­si­ble Ed­u­ca­tion: En­sure braille, large print, au­dio, and dig­i­tal ma­te­ri­als are avail­able to all blind stu­dents.

In­clu­sive Em­ploy­ment: En­cour­age em­ploy­ers to recog­nise our po­ten­tial and equip work­places with ac­ces­si­ble tech­nol­o­gy.

Uni­ver­sal De­sign in In­fra­struc­ture & Ser­vices: From pub­lic build­ings to trans­porta­tion sys­tems, ac­ces­si­bil­i­ty should be foun­da­tion­al, not an af­ter­thought.

Pol­i­cy & Le­gal Re­form:

Ful­ly im­ple­ment the UN Con­ven­tion on the Rights of Per­sons with Dis­abil­i­ties (CR­PD) to pro­tect and pro­mote our rights.

On Wednes­day (Sep­tem­ber 24), the 49th an­niver­sary of the Re­pub­lic of T&T was cel­e­brat­ed. The TTB­WA calls up­on the Gov­ern­ment, civ­il so­ci­ety, and pri­vate sec­tor: part­ner with us. Pro­vide op­por­tu­ni­ties, sup­port in­clu­sive sys­tems, and ho­n­our our po­ten­tial.

Our tools may dif­fer, but our will is un­wa­ver­ing. With prop­er sup­port, blind cit­i­zens can raise pro­duc­tive voic­es, lead with vi­sion, and help shape a Re­pub­lic that tru­ly be­longs to all its peo­ple.

To­geth­er we as­pire, to­geth­er we achieve.

To­geth­er, we build a Re­pub­lic for all.

This col­umn is sup­plied in con­junc­tion with the T&T Blind Wel­fare As­so­ci­a­tion.

Head­quar­ters: 118 Duke Street, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad

Email: ttb­wa1914@gmail.com

Phone: (868) 624-4675

What­sApp: (868) 395-3086