On 11 September 2011, 20 students from the Events Management & Roadshow (EMRS) team and Business Service Centre (BSC) together with Mr Chong went to Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped (SAVH) to experience the event called ‘Dining in the Dark’. It is a very meaningful event as participants got to know about the challenges that people with vision impairment face in their daily life. Students can get to mingle around with other stopover students during the dining session; they can also share their experience to others and raise awareness of blindness.
So did we enjoy eating in the pitch dark? It is definitely a memorable dinner for all the participants. Most of the students ended up using their hands to eat instead of using the culinary provided on the table. Worse still, one of the students even spilled a glass of orange juice onto his pants and table while attempting to take a sip. Another hilarious part is that my friend was puzzled why her tea still tasted bland after putting 4 packets of sugar in it, without realizing that the sugar didn’t even get into her cup at all, it was all over the tea plate instead.
When the lights came on after the meal, everyone immediately burst into laughter seeing the mess we had created. From this event, we get to experience one of the aspects that the visually impaired face in their daily activities. Through this valuable experience, students have learnt to be more empathetic and tolerance when we encounter a visually handicapped.
Here are some of the photos taken during the event day.
Briefing before the dining session.
SAVH Staff.
Instruction given by visually impaired waitress.
Staff leading the participants to their dining room.
Written by Zhuo Shiling
(EMRS team 1)
Year 2, Diploma in Accountancy & Finance
