Legally blind white cane advocate Sue Boman started her journey across Canada in Sechelt on March 23. The journey will take her through dozens of towns and cities in an effort to raise awareness about the struggles faced by those with sight impairments.
She decided to start her walk in Sechelt after hearing from local Canadian National Institute for the Blind advocate Bill Conway of Sechelt's easy to navigate walkways and audio crossing signals.
"I was going to start In Victoria, but Bill said everybody starts in Victoria and I should consider coming to Sechelt," Boman said.
On March 23 she was joined by Conway, Sechelt Mayor John Hen-derson, councillors Darnelda Siegers and Doug Hockley and about a dozen community members who came out to support her.
Henderson declared the day White Cane Awareness Day and presented Boman with a plaque before helping her and Conway cut a red ribbon signalling the start of her cross-Canada trek. Boman plans to keep the ribbon with her to mark the finish line of her journey later this year.
Conway led the way down Cowrie Street with Boman and her guide close behind. Henderson donned some sight-impairment glasses and a white cane and got a feel for navigating Sechelt sans-sight. Siegers and Hockley also took turns walking with sight impairments, sometimes tripping off curbs or slowing to a snail's pace.
It was quickly evident how difficult navigating without full sight can be.
Boman praised the District for their wide clear sidewalks, gently sloping curbs, audio signals and the eye-level pruning of trees.
"You would be surprised how often I get a branch in my face," Boman joked on the walk.
She also said the sidewalk surfaces were easy for her white cane to glide across, noting modern bricks, cobblestones and gravel are difficult to navigate with a white cane.
"Sechelt does an amazingly good job," she noted.
She hopes to find other communities that are as sensitive to the needs of the blind and sight impaired during her cross-country tour.
On March 26, she was in Nanaimo, on March 29 she navigated Surrey, and on March 31, she plans to head to Vancouver for a walk that will start in English Bay.
To find out more about Boman's walk and to follow her tour, see www.whitecaneconnections.blogspot.ca.
