A Guide to using Passenger Assistance for the First Time
Growing up as a blind teenager, I had no idea how I would ever learn to travel independently. The thought of navigating huge stations and busy crowds terrified me. Then I discovered something called Passenger Assistance, and everything changed. A Quick History of Accessibility This year, the British railway is celebrating 200 years of passenger service. For a long time, the needs of disabled people were ignored. It wasn’t until the Disability Discrimination Act in 1995 that rail operators started taking their responsibilities seriously. Even today, there is still a lot of progress to make (only 56% [...]
Anti-Bullying Week – The Art of Being Seen
VICTA Changemakers Anti-Bullying Week 2025 The Art of Being Seen by Millie-Jayne As a blind artist myself, I wanted to write a story that captures how it feels to be seen for who you are, not just what people notice first. “The Art of Being Seen” is about finding courage through creativity and how using your voice, your art, or your story can become its own Power for Good. Sometimes the most powerful change begins quietly, with someone brave enough to share how they see the world in their own way. Story Rowan was used [...]
Anti-Bullying Week – The Rainbow Cane Short Story
VICTA Changemakers Anti-Bullying Week 2025 The Rainbow Cane by Millie-Jayne This story was written for Anti-Bullying Week and inspired by this year’s theme, Power for Good. It reminds us that being different isn’t something to hide, it's something to celebrate. For children, kindness often begins with curiosity and grows into understanding. The Rainbow Cane is a gentle story about a blind girl who learns that her difference can brighten the world around her one ribbon, one smile, one kind action at a time. Story Lila’s cane was white, just like every other one. It helped [...]
Anti-Bullying Week – My Power Through Misunderstanding
VICTA Changemakers Anti-Bullying Week 2025 Growing up blind, I faced a lot of misconceptions — people assuming I couldn’t do things just because I am blind. Those misunderstandings sometimes turned into bullying, both in person and online. When I started posting my makeup looks on TikTok as a blind MUA the trolling got worse. People would comment things like, “It looks like your Guide Dog did it” or “You’re faking your blindness”. But instead of letting it break me, I used it as my power. Every time someone doubted me, I pushed harder — tried [...]
Use your Power for Good this Anti-Bullying Week 2025
It’s Anti-Bullying Week! As a proud member of the Anti-Bullying Alliance, VICTA is delighted to be celebrating this very important week, from Monday 10th to Friday 14th November. Join in with us on the VICTA Student Portal to learn more and encourage others to use their Power for Good. Power for Good This Anti-Bullying Week, young people are being empowered to use their Power for Good to safely speak up and raise awareness when they see bullying, face to face or online. How have you used your Power for Good? Comment on this post or email students@victa.org.uk letting [...]
Be inspired. Vote for Life of a Blind Girl in the Football Content Awards
Football Content Awards - Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award – Individual Finalist 2025 We were excited to chat to Holly Tuke, writer and creator of Life of a Blind Girl, who is a finalist in this year's Football Content Awards. Holly has a couple of big passions: football and accessibility! After noticing many football clubs weren't including accessibility features on their social streams such as alt text, Holly reached out, struck up conversations and made a change. Her work opening conversations and raising awareness led to clubs improving their social accessibility, allowing vision impaired football fans to access [...]
Whispers in the Dark – by Ruqayyah Ullah
VICTA Changemakers Blindness Awareness Month #WorldSightDay A poem by Ruqayyah Ullah Whispers in the Dark When I was little, whispers told me things. They told me the sky wasn’t just “blue” — it made you think of bubble gum ice cream. They told me the park was full of secret colours: the bench was supposed to be black but the colour had faded from age, use and weather it was now more grey like a stormy sky, the puddles were shiny like pennies, and the dog was wagging its tail, it sounded like wind. [...]
Are Meta Glasses worth it?
Hey Meta - these glasses have changed everything As a gadget girlie, I love anything AI-driven. So when I recently found out about Meta glasses, I knew I had to try them. What I didn't realise was just how much they were about to change my life. They have transformed my independence, allowing me to do things I never thought I would be able to do without sighted assistance. And so I figured I would share my experiences in this post for Blindness Awareness Month. What are Meta Smart Glasses? Created by Meta (the same company that owns [...]
Great toys for vision impaired children this National Play Day
Did you know that the first Wednesday of every August is National Play Day? To mark the occasion, blind writer Charlotte Bateman shares her memories of play as a child, and her top toy picks especially suited for children with sight loss. One of my happiest memories from childhood is spending endless hours just playing. I was born in 2001, before tablets and smartphones took over. Back then, it was all about toys. And as a blind child, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Everything was tactile. I spent hours building Lego houses, [...]
Top tips for making money and securing employment as a vision impaired person
Charlotte shares side hustles to try this summer holidays When I was a teen, many of my sighted peers at school were getting weekend jobs: stacking shelves, working as baristas, waiting tables. But as someone with no useful vision, none of those jobs were accessible. I ended up receiving Universal Credit which provided me with a small monthly income. It meant I could spend money on things like new clothes or eating out. Having said that, the whole application process was pretty laborious, and now that I look back, I wish I’d thought about other [...]
