Moving towards independence
My name is Lili Goldwein; I am married and am a mother of four and a grandmother of eight. I reside in the village of Yokne’am, and I manage a family guesthouse at my residence.
I am blind, assisted by a guide dog.
I was engaged in teaching blind and visually-impaired children in integrated classes for many years.
Simultaneously, I was also engaged in information and guidance for education teams on blindness and the loss of eyesight.
In recent years I have been promoting a unique project, “Audio Service.” I meet medical teams in this initiative, including physicians, nurses, nursing students, and various service providers. During the meeting, a workshop is also included, during which I describe the processes undergone by a person who is losing his eyesight with the passage of years. I also elaborate on guide dogs in general and mine in particular. The workshop is active and provides the participants the tool for making the service accessible for the blind and the person with impaired vision.
My experience teaches that we, the service recipients, must be partners in a practical way to make the service accessible.
What is the meaning of the partnership? First, we must clarify and guide the service providers regarding our needs and, accordingly, how to best implement the service.
The purpose of the “Moving to independence” initiative, which is intended for all the handicapped population with an emphasis on the blind, is to guide them as to how they would wish to receive the assistance/service upon meeting with the service providers, with personal compatibility.
The initiative’s implementation will be in a meeting with the disabled that will last for about one and a half hours.
This get-together will be divided into a personal story and an experiential workshop.
My vision is: To make the service receiving for independence more pleasant.
Guiding the service providers serves as the road for independence.