Group photo of guest-of-honour, Mr Eric Chua, with management and partners from Guide Dogs Singapore.

SINGAPORE (27 October 2023) — October is Blindness Awareness Month, which serves as an important opportunity to raise awareness and foster a deeper understanding of the challenges and experiences of the vision impaired community. On 15 October, International White Cane Day stands as a tribute to the achievements, challenges, and aspirations of individuals with vision impairment (VI). It is a day devoted to honouring the white cane, a symbol of independence and resilience, and celebrating the journey of the VI community from dependency to full participation in society.

Guide Dogs Singapore (GDS) marked this significant occasion by bringing the community together with an event at Parkway Parade on 8 October 2023. Under the theme “Inspiring Lives Without Sight”, the event encapsulated GDS’s mission to empower those with VI, transforming limitations into possibilities and highlighting the strength of the VI community.

The event’s launch was graced by Mr Eric Chua, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Community, and Youth and the Ministry of Social and Family Development. His presence emphasised the positive impact of vision rehabilitation, witnessed through interactions with VI clients served by GDS.

Guest-of-honour, Mr Eric Chua, treads an obstacle course while blindfolded with sighted assistance from Guide Dogs Singapore’s Orientation & Mobility Specialist, Ms Simone Oh.

In attendance were longstanding partners of GDS, including TechnipFMC, SBS Transit, SMRT Corporation, SG Enable. Mr. Roger Tan, Vice President of Manufacturing Operations at TechnipFMC Asia, expressed their enduring commitment:

Beyond rehabilitation services, GDS focuses on advocacy and education, fostering knowledge and literacy on vision health for a more empathetic society. Event highlights included a launch ceremony, immersive experiences to understand the VI community, complimentary eye screenings in partnership with Singapore Polytechnic, and booths operated by individuals with VI, celebrating diverse abilities.

A core objective for GDS is holistic collaboration with community partners. This event showcased collaborations with iC2 PrepHouse and Singapore Repertory Theatre, highlighting a comprehensive approach to empowerment. Such collaborations enable pooling and distributing resources effectively, working together to promote inclusivity.

GDS’s journey towards disability inclusion aligns perfectly with Singapore’s Enabling Masterplan 2030, a national initiative aimed at creating a more inclusive and equitable society. Their mission goes beyond just providing guide dogs; they are dedicated to transforming lives through holistic rehabilitative training and services, empowering the vision impaired community to lead fulfilling and independent lives. The community event represents progress in promoting greater awareness and understanding of the challenges faced by individuals with VI.

There are an estimated 40,000 blind and vision impaired persons in Singapore, which will only increase with the rapid ageing population, longer life spans and congenital eye defects. Their work is not just about helping VI people navigate the physical world; it’s about ensuring an improved quality of life, equal access to opportunities, and active engagement within communities. The growing number of individuals facing vision impairment reinforces the urgency of their mission, making their work even more vital today.

As a self-funded charity, GDS is actively raising funds to provide rehabilitation programmes to empower more individuals with vision impairment. Till 31 October 2023, all donations to GDS are matched dollar-for-dollar by the Tote Board*, doubling their impact. Contributions can be made at giving.sg/gds/aug23.

*Matching capped at $250,000 per charity per financial year

Key Event Highlights:

• Launch Ceremony: Officiated by Mr Eric Chua and Dr Wong Hon Tym, Chairperson of GDS, featured a symbolic gesture that underscored the significance of undergoing Orientation and Mobility (O&M) training. Both dignitaries donned blindfolds and were tasked with attaching a white cane and guide dog harness, guided solely by verbal instructions from an event attendee and an O&M Specialist. This demonstration emphasises the importance of encouraging people with VI to seek rehabilitative services, equipping them with the skills to live life with confidence and self-sufficiency.
• Educating the Community through Immersive Experiences: The event featured experiential activities that provided educational insights into the world of the VI community. Attendees had the opportunity to step into the shoes of someone navigating their surroundings without sight, engage with assistive tools, and learn how to help people with vision loss in public through a quiz and trivia quest. These activities transcended generational and demographic boundaries, fostering inclusivity and understanding for all.
• Promoting Eye Health and Preventive Measures: In partnership with Singapore Polytechnic, Diploma in Optometry, complimentary eye screenings were offered to the public. This initiative furthered GDS’s commitment to promoting good eye health, ensuring that the community has access to vital health information.
• Showcasing Diverse Abilities within the Vision Impaired Community: Several event booths were operated by individuals with VI, providing opportunities for direct interaction between sighted and non-sighted individuals. This celebrates the diverse talents within the VI community, and also showcases the organisation’s dedication to promoting diversity and inclusion.

SINGAPORE (10 February, 2022) — After completing his Masters in Business Administration at the age of 31, Alvin was looking forward to a brighter future. In an unexpected turn of events, he was diagnosed with a rare auto-immune disease and went into a coma. After being comatose for 26 days, he finally awoken, only to discover he had lost his sense of sight. 

“I was a very independent person. After losing my sight, the most challenging thing was not being able to go out on my own. This caused me a lot of anxiety and depression. Most of the time, in fact, all of the time, I was in darkness,” shared Alvin. 

In 2012, Alvin met Seretta, a Labrador-Golden Retriever from Australia, who would train to become his travelling companion. Together, they would become Singapore’s second-ever guide dog team to graduate from Guide Dogs Singapore Ltd (GDS). She would empower him greatly, providing not just sighted guidance, but emotional support. 

Having reached 10 years old, the universal retirement age for guide dogs, Seretta will take on her new role as a beloved house pet. However, this means Alvin will need a replacement guide dog. For the next month, GDS is launching various initiatives in a concerted effort to raise $150,000, which will enable them to bring in and train guide dogs for three more visually-impaired clients.

Each donation will be amplified by the Tote Board’s Enhanced Fund-Raising Programme, which provides a dollar-for-dollar matching donation. This means every donation by the public will make twice the impact – a $100 donation will contribute $200 to the campaign. Physical cheques and cash donations made to this campaign between 3 February to 31 March 2022 will also qualify for this.

“Guide dogs give people with visual impairments a priceless opportunity to lead independent lives. We rely mostly on donations to fund our work, and every dollar brings us closer to pairing our clients with a guide dog,” said Vanessa Loh, General Manager, Guide Dogs Singapore Ltd.

It costs about $50,000 to fully train a guide dog and pair them with a client, with whom they will work for seven to nine years. Currently, there are six clients on Guide Dogs Singapore’s waiting list.

GDS has released videos over the past months that aim to raise awareness to the role guide dogs play in our society, as well as inviting groups to interact with guide dog owners, among other initiatives. Follow Guide Dogs Singapore’s Facebook and Instagram pages for past stories. 

Members of the public who wish to support this campaign may make a direct donation at https://www.giving.sg/gds/nggd2022 to empower visually-impaired clients towards the more independent lives that they desire.

White Cane Day is a 3-month long campaign with the aim of raising more funds for Guide Dogs Singapore. This will bolster their support for more people with vision impairment.

SINGAPORE (4 October, 2021) —Non-profit voluntary welfare organisation, Guide Dogs Singapore (GDS) launches a 3-month long campaign to celebrate White Cane Day (WCD) 2021 – A day that is celebrated every year on 15th October. 

White Cane Day helps raise awareness in our community that there are people with vision impairment (VI) living amongst us. While the pandemic has had a huge impact on everyone, it has been especially difficult for this particular group, as the new regulations and measures have made daily life more challenging.

For 15 years, GDS have been supporting their VI clients in regaining their mobility and independence to lead a fulfilling life, and have helped over 400 beneficiaries last year. Now, the pandemic has underscored this importance of being self-reliant and independent more than ever.

GDS’s rehabilitation programmes have allowed VI clients to now travel out independently, buy their own food and essential items, use assistive technology to stay connected with family and friends, and stay updated with the latest news – tasks that are often taken for granted. But this requires months of training, tenacity and tremendous efforts from the clients, who can now enjoy life to the fullest.  

Now, join Guide Dogs Singapore to celebrate White Cane Day 2021 from this September to November as they commemorate these special milestones their VI clients have achieved through their perseverance and resilience. 

Follow Guide Dogs Singapore’s Facebook and Instagram pages to be kept up to date with content about the VI community such as the #DidYouKnow series which cover fun interesting facts, and #FacesOfGDS client features which aim to showcase their clients and their hobbies that are beyond their visual impairment. Stay tuned for their upcoming social media challenge and their Facebook Live event.

The public can also make a contribution via https://www.giving.sg/gds/wcd2021. Each donation will be matched by the Tote Board with a $1 for $1 grant, meaning a donation of $100 will entail a $200 donation in total. Physical cheques and cash donations to their online campaigns will also qualify for the donation matching if made between 11 September to 14 November 2021. 

Dog-in-training Eve arrived in Singapore on July 29 from Osaka, Japan.

SINGAPORE (23 AUGUST 2021) — On July 29, Guide Dogs Singapore (GDS) welcomed its newest dog-in-training, Eve.

The 17-month-old Golden Retriever-Labrador Retriever mix will undergo five months of training by GDS’s Guide Dog Mobility Instructor, Ms Christina Teng. The training programme will familiarise Eve with Singapore’s environment while she learns guiding skills such as: 

• Traveling in a straight line 
• Stopping where there is a change in ground elevations such as at kerbs and staircases 
• Avoiding stationary and moving obstacles
• Locating objects in sight such as doorways, MRT gantries, lifts and escalators

After the five months of training, Eve will be matched with her vision impaired (VI) handler, and both will undergo one month of training to learn to work as a pair.

Guide dogs provide VI persons with increased safety and more efficient travel, giving them the opportunity to live more independently. They also provide companionship, lifting mental stressors off VI persons as they go about their daily lives.

Eve was born in Osaka, Japan, on 1 March 2020 and is an extremely affectionate and active dog. 

As part of her basic training in Osaka, helmed by Nippon Lighthouse Guide Dog Training Center, Eve was exposed to various environments — such as subway stations and parks — to familiarise her with crowded public spaces. She was also able to socialise with her raisers and other dogs during her puppyhood.

Ms Yukiji Uemura, puppy raiser to Eve said: “My family and I were very surprised to hear that our puppy Eve is going to be trained as a guide dog in Singapore. Her trainer from Nippon Lighthouse assured us that that they are confident that Eve will be a fine guide dog. We are very proud of her and would like to support her even though we are far away. It is so wonderful and a great opportunity that Eve will be able to help and support someone.”

When she completes her training, Eve will be paired with an eligible VI person who she will work with for up to nine years, if conditions permit. 

With the help of GDS, Eve and her future handler will be equipped with the skills to navigate commonly visited locations such as malls or offices. The pair will also be assessed by GDS’s Guide Dog Mobility Instructor yearly until she retires to ensure the necessary support is given to maintain a long, healthy relationship between the two.

Guide dog teams in Singapore still face accessibility issues, as they are often rejected from entering public spaces — such as food and beverage outlets and private hire cars — despite existing legislation. This rejection often comes from the lack of awareness about guide dogs in Singapore.

With the arrival of Eve, GDS hopes that more people in Singapore will be accepting of guide dogs and this helps increase accessibility for their VI handlers.

The Singapore Government signed the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities on 30 November 2012 in New York. Extracts of the paper as follow:

Article 9 – Accessibility

1. To enable persons with disabilities to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life, States Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure to persons with disabilities access, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and in rural areas. These measures, which shall include the identification and elimination of obstacles and barriers to accessibility, shall apply to, inter alia:

Buildings, roads, transportation and other indoor and outdoor facilities, including schools, housing, medical facilities and workplaces;

Information, communications and other services, including electronic services and emergency services.

2. States Parties shall also take appropriate measures to:

Develop, promulgate and monitor the implementation of minimum standards and guidelines for the accessibility of facilities and services open or provided to the public;

Ensure that private entities that offer facilities and services which are open or provided to the public take into account all aspects of accessibility for persons with disabilities;

Provide training for stakeholders on accessibility issues facing persons with disabilities;

Provide in buildings and other facilities open to the public signage in Braille and in easy to read and understand forms;

Provide forms of live assistance and intermediaries, including guides, readers and professional sign language interpreters, to facilitate accessibility to buildings and other facilities open to the public;

Promote other appropriate forms of assistance and support to persons with disabilities to ensure their access to information;

Promote access for persons with disabilities to new information and communications technologies and systems, including the Internet;

Promote the design, development, production and distribution of accessible information and communications technologies and systems at an early stage, so that these technologies and systems become accessible at minimum cost.