\u201cThe thing is that people often ask me, do I regret it? Is it a bad thing? Would I be able to see if I could?\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I say absolutely not. If you gave me the choice now of being sighted, I wouldn\u2019t do it because it\u2019s part of my identity.\u201d<\/p>\n
But there is also a considerable financial and emotional burden that comes with being blind and looking after a large family.<\/p>\n
With four kids all under the age of 15 and her youngest child just 6 years old, En has to travel to endless extracurricular activities.<\/p>\n
The taxi fares are expensive if public transport is unavailable, and when taking a taxi alone, she worries that she could be dropped off in the wrong place or be taken advantage of by the driver.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the biggest things for me is maybe not even the physical obstacles, it\u2019s kind of the emotional toll because I feel like I don\u2019t want to be a burden on people,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
En went blind when she was 18 months old after becoming sick with measles. She was born in Vietnam after her family fled Cambodia in 1975 to escape the brutal Pol Pot regime, a period of extreme violence and mass deaths. After 11 years in Vietnam, they moved to New Zealand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI doubt that the vaccine would have been available [in Vietnam] and even if it were, it would have been extortionately expensive,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI admire my parents enormously for doing what they did for us, getting all of us to this safe place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia En has been blind all her life after contracting measles as a baby, and says her disability has helped her see the kindness of people.<\/p>\n
This week, new cases of measles in Northland sparked concern over the spread of the contagious illness in New Zealand, bringing the number of infections to nine in the latest outbreak.<\/p>\n
En\u2019s children are immunised and she continues to fully support vaccinations. <\/p>\n
Having known no other life, En is well used to navigating the world without sight. But there are frustrations, such as the ridiculous amount of time to order pizza online because the website mainly uses pictures.<\/p>\n
To work on her computer, En uses a screen reader \u2013 an app that reads aloud words \u2013 but for highly visual websites, it struggles to work.<\/p>\n
Web designers simply do not take into account people with disabilities using their sites, she says.<\/p>\n
Adaptive equipment can be expensive, and when En buys household appliances, such as a washing machine, she has to select specific models that don\u2019t rely on visual screens.<\/p>\n
On a smaller scale, En has to buy a special Braille board to pursue her favourite hobby, competitive Scrabble.<\/p>\n
Unemployment high in the blind community<\/p>\n
The unemployment rate in the low vision and blind community is extremely high, with pathways into study and employment more difficult to access.<\/p>\n
En loves playing competitive scrabble and uses a Braille board. <\/p>\n
En studied a Bachelor of Arts \/ Bachelor of Laws (Honours) conjoint degree at the University of Otago.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting even a part-time job as a person with a disability … it\u2019s really just impossible in many ways.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blind Low Vision NZ\u2019s head of fundraising, Bernadette Murphy, says blind and low vision people struggle to find jobs because of unconscious bias from employers.<\/p>\n
More than 50% of the organisation\u2019s clientele are unemployed, Murphy says.<\/p>\n
Often, managers hiring for a role will pre-judge the capability of a person who is blind without considering their qualifications.<\/p>\n
En is now working as a guidance counsellor after deciding to switch career paths because she was unfulfilled by work as a lawyer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to do a job that\u2019s about helping and supporting other people, and being a counsellor, you\u2019re really walking alongside people on their journey to, I guess, live the life they want to,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Murphy says there is a \u201chigher invisible cost\u201d to being independent as a blind person because of the need for specialist software technology, white canes or a guide dog.<\/p>\n
She says even a simple doctor\u2019s visit can become difficult because of the need to reveal confidential information to another person for medical forms, which raises privacy concerns. <\/p>\n
\u201cAccessing these essentials is a human right, whether it\u2019s being able to go to the doctor, feeling safe walking down the street or having employment, but when you have a disability, these things become a privilege. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just the everyday cost of living; there\u2019s another layer of financial support that needs to be put into place.\u201d <\/p>\n
Although Blind Low Vision NZ is the largest vision rehabilitation provider in New Zealand, 80% of its funding comes from donations, she says.<\/p>\n
En says her black Labrador guide dog, Kyle, is a terrific help and \u201cthe best-looking man in my life\u201d.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s not all \u201d doom and gloom\u201d being blind, she says. <\/p>\n
Having a visual disability has given her incredible problem-solving skills and means she never struggles to think up clever ways to carry out tasks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I also get the opportunity to see the best of people a lot more than maybe someone without a disability,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Recently, a group of schoolchildren in Palmerston North eagerly helped hernavigate her way to her child\u2019s school classroom. Every day she is on the receiving end of small acts of kindness.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are always people taking that little bit of time to notice and ask if I need help. And it helps you to be less jaded about the world,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI get the privilege of seeing that side of humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n
To donate to Blind Low Vision NZ, visit its website or phone 0800 DONATE \/ 0800 366 283.<\/p>\n