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. [...]
Meta Glasses – are they 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 [...]
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 [...]
Experiencing nature as a blind person
By Grace Hill Across June The Wildlife Trusts have been getting people involved and engaged in nature for 30 Days Wild. Grace shares her thoughts on exploring nature with sight loss. Hello, I'm Grace and I'm a VICTA Changemaker, and today I'm going to offer some insight into my experience of nature as a blind person. So we often talk about how nature can help our mental health, how going out in nature can help us clear our heads and connect with the world around us. And that is completely true, but there are downsides... [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Choose Respect for Anti-Bullying Week 2024
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 11th to Friday 15th November. Join in with us on the VICTA Student Portal to learn more and encourage others to Choose Respect. Choose Respect This year’s Anti-Bullying Week theme is Choose Respect, so that children and young people can feel empowered to do something positive that will combat the harm and hurt caused by bullying. How have you shown Respect? Comment on this post or email students@victa.org.uk letting us know how you have shown [...]
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 [...]
