In the next five years, more than 68,000 blind people across the country will be trained to become fully independent as part of the government-funded "White Canes" project.
The project is implemented by National Health Security Office (NHSO) at the total cost of Bt770 million, which translates to about Bt9,000 for each blind or visually impaired person. The 20-day, 120-hour course will ensure that each blind person can be independent or require the minimum of assistance.
At present, 80,000 of Thai citizens are visually impaired, but only about 15 per cent or about 12,000 of them have received training.
The Bt770-million budget was initially earmarked for providing courses over a period of 10 years. However, Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanawisit halved the period and granted the entire amount.
NHSO had originally set a longer period because there's a serious shortage of qualified trainers, with fewer than 100 of them across the country. However, a recent finding by the Thailand Nursing and Midwifery Council (TNMC) showed that a large number of nurses studying under the modern curriculum were qualified to provide white-cane courses.
In addition to the NHSO, the ministry and TNMC, the project will be jointly implemented by the Ratchasuda College under Mahidol University, which was founded by HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and associations for the blind.