My braille journey
By Eliza Humphrey Hello, I am Eliza, a VICTA Changemaker and life-long braille user. I have been blind since birth and have always used braille to read and write. For me, it has allowed me to access so many different parts of my life, from schoolwork to music, enabling me to pursue my interests and enjoy activities with family and friends. With 2025 celebrating 200 years of braille, I would like to celebrate the tactile code and explain how I use it every day. What is braille and its different types Braille is a system [...]
I’m blind and this is why I love Ju-Jitsu
By Kieran Clarke The reason that I love Ju-Jitsu so much as a blind person is because it doesn't really have to be adapted for me. I can spar, compete, train and do everything that everyone else can do without any adaptation, unlike other sports. Ju-Jitsu primarily relies on contact and feel of your opponent, so this is great for someone like me that relies on these senses more than the average person. However, sometimes when I'm grappling, I do tend to accidently poke my opponents in the eyes. And I promise this is not from [...]
Join blind artist & VICTA Changemaker Ruqaiya’s on a tour of her exhibition
Join VICTA Changemaker and blind artist Ruqaiya Asim for a tour of her current exhibition 'Can You See Me Now?' The exhibition is all about spreading disability awareness and sharing Ruqaiya's experiences of how she navigates the world as a blind person. Ruqaiya talks you through the features she's put in place to make sure her art is accessible for you to experience if you have a vision impairment. You can still catch 'Can You See Me Now' in person until 29 March Opening hours: Monday to Saturday, from 9 am – 5 pm. Location: [...]
Join our World Book Day Celebration
Sorry our Voxblock offer has reached capacity and is now closed. If you would like to be added to a waiting list should more devices become available, or would like to tell us about your love of books for your chance to win a set of POGS headphones, please email students@victa.org.uk. Hi, I’m Catherine and I have been working for VICTA since November 2024. As a child I was a huge Jacqueline Wilson and Cathy Cassidy fan. I really enjoyed reading books about little girls my own age and imagining what it would be like [...]
Be inspired. Showdown players tell us how the sport that’s for everyone has helped their mental health
This #ChildrensMentalHealthWeek VICTA Sport wants to highlight that sport is for everybody and that sense of being part of something and supporting each other can have a really positive impact on your mental health. We chatted to Ellie, Millie, Al, Zehra and Sam, who have all come to showdown in different ways and at different stages in their sight loss journey, but can all agree on the fun, friendships and confidence they've built by giving it a go! Find out what showdown is, why you should give it a try, and how to find a team to play [...]
New opportunity – Peterborough VI Forum
The Peterborough VI Forum would like to invite you to join. Please see their information below: We would like to invite you to the Peterborough VI Forum, a group run by and for local blind and partially sighted people. The Peterborough VI Forum brings together local visually impaired people and partner organisations to find out about and keep up to date with the latest events, activities and services available for blind and partially sighted people from the local area. This is a chance to hear directly from local service providers about their latest news and updates [...]
New opportunity – Blind In Business Pathways Service Events – Autumn 2024
Please see the information below from Blind In Business about their upcoming events for this autumn... Building Prospects Part 2 Building Prospects is a fun, peer led program of hour-long workshops, designed to empower blind and partially sighted young people between the ages of 13 and 18. We create a confidence building, supportive environment which helps participants explore pathways towards the career of their dreams. We will explore and equip participants with CV writing tips, how and where to job search, an interview master class and opportunity to practice mock interviews with leading employers in [...]
Video game development project for the blind
VICTA Changemakers Blindness Awareness Month Video games, as the name suggests, are not supportive for people without sight. The assumption that the player has sight means that there are certain aspects of any game that would stop a vision impaired person from playing, like ambiguous audio cues or precise timing. In order to create a game that works for visually impaired people, we have to try to solve these issues. The first question we (myself and Mohammed) had to discuss in development was “What kind of game would be accessible for people with [...]
Using transport when your are blind
VICTA Changemakers Blindness Awareness Month Hi my name is Abu-bakr Ishtiaq, this article is all about transport and a bit about my experiences as someone who has a vision impairment. About me and my vision impairment I am registered blind - severely sight impaired with a condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa RP with Laurence Moon Biedl syndrome and I also have tunnel vision. Despite my vision impairment, I get around independently on public transport, using platforms for trams, trains and buses. What helped me was being given the confidence while attending the residential college [...]
The Verses That Make Us: A Personal Journey Through Change
VICTA Changemakers Blindness Awareness Month By Ellie Wallwork In mid September, I stood on a stage with a band arrayed behind me, four pages of braille paper clutched in my hand. I'm an actor but I felt the most acute stage fright of my life, voice caught in my throat and knees shaking as if I had run a marathon. I didn't think the words would come - until I started to speak. I hadn't thought of myself as a poet. I used to tap words out on a keyboard when I [...]
