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In Touch - Factsheet BBC Radio 4 |
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Tuesday 17 May Listen to Tuesday 17 May ORANGE'S WILDFIRE Guests: Kate Crofts, Wildfire campaigner Rory Heap, Wildfire Johnathan Rose, Orange Wildfire was a speech system introduced by Orange into its network five years ago, which offers a number of options to customers. It enables you to retrieve your calls, call up and listen to your directory of numbers: indeed, use a range of the menu options which would in the past have been barred to us. It wasn't introduced with visually impaired people in mind, but as the realisation dawned, the take-up by blind people has been wide, with wildfire being thought to have well over a hundred visually impaired customers. But now the system is being withdrawn, and many visually impaired people are upset, not merely over the fact of its going, but the way in which they feel the matter has been handled: to the extent that a campaign is being launched either to save wildfire, or to persuade Orange to come up with a viable alternative. We'll be hearing from Orange but also Kate Crofts, whose co-ordinating the campaign and Rory Heap, a wildfire user. Kate Crofts website Orange website For more information on the Talks software, specifically designed for visually impaired mobile phone users, you can contact the RNIB. (See end of page) TRAVELEYES Do you feel limited in your choice of holidays because getting the most out of so many of them involves going with someone whose able to see; and also, would you welcome the idea that the sighted person had actually volunteered for the role of being a guide for some of the time? Well, Amar Latif has come up with a concept which he believes could widen the horizons of people in this situation; he joins us in the In Touch studio. Amar Latif, explains how Traveleyes, which is the name of the holiday company, works. Traveleyes website GENERAL CONTACTS RNIB 105 Judd Street London WC1H 9NE Tel: 0845 766 99 99 (UK callers only - Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm) Tel. 0207 388 1266 (switchboard/overseas callers) Textphone users call via Typetalk: 0800 51 51 52 Web: www.rnib.org.uk The RNIB provides information, support and advice for anyone with a serious sight problem. They not only provide Braille, Talking Books and computer training, but imaginative and practical solutions to everyday challenges. The RNIB campaigns to change society's attitudes, actions and assumptions, so that people with sight problems can enjoy the same rights, freedoms and responsibilities as fully sighted people. They also fund pioneering research into preventing and treating eye disease and promote eye health by running public health awareness campaigns. HENSHAWS SOCIETY FOR BLIND PEOPLE (HSBP) John Derby House 88-92 Talbot Road Old Trafford Manchester M16 0GS Tel: 0161 872 1234 Email: info@hsbp.co.uk Web: www.henshaws.org.uk Henshaws provides a wide range of services for people who have sight difficulties. They aim to enable visually impaired people of all ages to maximise their independence and enjoy a high quality of life. They have centres in: Harrogate, Knaresborough, Liverpool, Llandudno, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Salford, Southport and Trafford. THE GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND ASSOCIATION (GDBA) Burghfield Common Reading RG7 3YG Tel: 0118 983 5555 Email: guidedogs@guidedogs.org.uk Web: www.guidedogs.org.uk The GDBA's mission is to provide guide dogs, mobility and other rehabilitation services that meet the needs of blind and partially sighted people. ACTION FOR BLIND PEOPLE 14-16 Verney Road London SE16 3DZ Tel: 0800 915 4666 (info & advice) Tel: 020 7635 4800 (central office) Web: www.afbp.org Registered charity with national cover that provides practical support in the areas of housing, holidays, information, employment and training, cash grants and welfare rights for blind and partially sighted people. Leaflets and booklets are available free of charge, including 'Getting on - a Guide to Services for Visually Impaired people'. No SAE required. NATIONAL LEAGUE OF THE BLIND AND DISABLED Central Office Swinton House 324 Grays Inn Road London WC1X 8DD Tel: 020 7837 6103 Fax: 020 7278 0436 Textphone: 020 7837 6103 National League of the Blind and Disabled is a registered trade union and is involved in all issues regarding the employment of blind and disabled people in the UK. NATIONAL LIBRARY FOR THE BLIND Far Cromwell Road Bredbury Stockport SK6 2SG Tel: 0161 355 2000 Minicom: 0161 355 2043 Email: enquiries@nlbuk.org Web: www.nlb-online.org The National Library for the Blind (NLB) is a registered charity which helps visually impaired people throughout the country continue to enjoy the same access to the world of reading as people who are fully sighted. Visit the In Touch Message Board Back to the In Touch page The BBC is not responsible for external websites |
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