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LIZIE DAN LA MAIN - UNION DES AVEUGLES DE L'ILE MAURICE
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Lizié Dan La Main offers a comprehensive range of services to the visually handicapped. These cover eye-care, the educational field, vocational training and recreational/leisure activities such as music and sports.

Activities are held at the Centre in Curepipe.
Opening Hours: Mondays to Fridays
09.00hrs - 16.00hrs
Saturdays- 10.00hrs - 12.30 hrs

Eye Care

Anyone who applies for admission to our centre needs firstly to be classified as to the amount of visual disability. A complete eye examination is carried out by our optometrist, Mr Gaëtan Li Wan Cheun, at his practice. It is important to obtain a complete medical report and as much info as possible about your condition from everyone who has examined you previously. After the examination by Mr Li, a file is created and this includes all necessary medical and visual data plus all relevant information such as aspirations, hobbies etc of applicant. This file is extremely useful for all medical and health care practitioners attending to you. If you can benefit from rehabilitation, Mr Li will prepare a report and program. After reception of his report at the centre, your rehabilitation program can start.

We would like to point out that we do not offer any medical treatment at the centre, we take care of the rehabilitation of blind and partially sighted people, i.e people who have a lower than normal vision, even with the help of an optical correction such as spectacles or contact lenses. Our goal is to rehabilitate these people and help them to live as normal a life as possible. We do not dispense medical or surgical treatment for ocular conditions, nor do we prescribe glasses or contact lenses for the correction of visual problems such as myopia, hypermetropia, astigmatism or presbyopia. Our vocation is solely rehabilitation, but we can still be of great assistance to those who need it. We can help them to make maximum use of their remaining vision. Even people who are completely blind will find that our program can be of a lot of help to them. Through training in mobility, we will ensure that you lead as normal a life as possible.

We propose a simple schema below, which will be helpful in determining whether we can be of help to you or not. We would like to point out that any advice given is for information only and not for diagnostic purposes. If you happen to notice any of these signs or experience any of these symptoms, please consult an ophthalmologist or optometrist at soonest.

  • A deterioration in your distance or near vision
  • Diplopia (double vision)
  • Partial or complete loss of visual field
  • A change in the physical appearance of your eye such as redness or swelling
  • Any unusual sensation such as discomfort, pain, photophobia (discomfort in bright lights) or flashing lights in your visual fields
  • Watering of the eyes or any discharge
  • Headaches

Whether you experience problems with only one eye or both, it is important that you consult an ophthalmologist or an optometrist at soonest.When there is a family history of hereditary ocular conditions, it is important for all blood members of the family to have an eye examination, even in the absence of signs or symptoms of the condition. Many eye diseases have a strong hereditary factor and will therefore affect several members of the same family.  A typical example of such cases is open angle glaucoma, which has a strong family tendency and where symptoms can go undetected until the late stages. Another example is retinitis pigmentosa (night blindness).
A list of some hereditary conditions is given below as examples.

  • Diabetes mellitus (resulting in diabetic retinopathy)
  • Glaucoma
  • Keratoconus
  • Retinitis pigmentosa (night blindness)
  • High myopia

Therefore if you experience any ocular or visual symptom, please consult an ophthalmologist or optometrist to find out the cause. If your vision returns back to normal after treatment or correction with spectacles or contact lenses, there is no more that we can or need to do for you. On the other hand, should your vision not be back to normal, even with an optical correction, it is most likely that we can be of assistance to you.

Mobility and Activities of Daily Living

Mobility and guidance- This is the first step in rehabilitation. Our primary target is for the person to retain or regain his/her autonomy. He/she is trained to move around and deal with everyday chores without the help of another person. Mobility and guidance includes initiation to the use of the white stick, where necessary, activities of daily living, cookery and all other domestic household duties.

Specialised Education

We provide pre-primary, primary and adult education. Teaching is carried out in normal or enlarged print or through Braille. We prepare children for the CPE exams at primary level and ensure their admission in colleges and other secondary institutions. Our centre is equipped with the latest technology such as closed circuit print enlargers, Braille transcribers computers and voice generated commands computers. We also have an agreement with the Ministry of Education whereby we place visually handicapped children in the regions of Flacq and Riviere Des Anguilles in an Intergrated Unit so as to keep them in a normal environment. There are further plans for decentralisation through the creation of new educational centres in other parts of the island in the very near future.

Information and Technology with Adapted Software

Lizie Dan La Main enable the accessibility of ICT to visually impaired persons in the society. Our aim is to create employment facilities for the Blind. We train them with adaptive software through Jaws and Zoom text.

Vocational Training

Vocational training plays an important role in the rehabilitation of the visually handicapped. It is the next step after mobility and guidance. Through vocational training, we aim to allow the visually handicapped to maintain himself financially, thus further improving his autonomy and independence. Moreover, this helps him to keep himself busy.

Rattan works and macramé form the major bulk of vocational training. This covers the manufacturing of a variety of rattan hand made products such as baskets, picture frames, trays and magazine racks. On hand training is offered in our workshop. Moreover, all aspects of costing, management and general running of a small personal workshop are also covered. After the training period, the person can decide to stay on and work in our workshop or open his own personal business. Rattan work and basket weaving have traditionally been associated with the visually handicapped because they tend to be quite skilful with their hands. We insist on quality in our workshop and pride ourselves in the fact that people buy from us because of the quality and not out of sympathy for handicapped persons. We have held stands at various expos such as the Reduit Appeal fund, the Ministry of Health expo and the Independence Day Trade Fair. Visits to our workshop is most welcome and orders for special products are always taken care of.

We also have a smaller section for woodwork. Training is given in the manufacture of chairs, stools etc and this section also supports all the woodwork required for the rattan products. There are plans to include other activities such as pottery and sculpture.

Sports

Regular physical training already forms part of the rehabilitation program. Moreover, we have built ourselves a strong reputation on both the local and international sports competition scene. The numerous trophies and medals displayed at the centre bear witness to the high standard achieved by the athletes of Lizie Dan La Main. On the local scene, we have been the national champions in athletics, football and torball for the past six years. On the International scene, we have managed to reach the final pools of 5-a-side football in Brazil(1990), Italy(2002 and Manchester(2004). Our football team was treated to a nice reception by Manchester United FC in 2004. Our participation in sports and athletics in neighbouring countries such as Reunion island, Seychelles, Commores and Africa  

Music

Our musical band is well known throughout the whole island. They perform regularly at functions and tourist hotels. They are fully equipped as far as instruments and sound equipment is concerned. Music teaching is carried out at the centre ad a recreational activity. We even have a fully equipped sound studio for rehearsal and sound recording. Teaching covers both practical and theoretical aspects.

Our Sega group, composed of singers and dancers, excels in traditional sega (sega typique). Members are encouraged to join the group as they can learn to play traditional instruments such as the ravanne, triangle and maravane. Once again, exchanges are regularly held between the association and twin associations in Reunion Island.

Our Services include:  
  • Theatre
  • Orientation and Mobility
  • Activities of Daily Living
  • Braille Learning
  • Information and Technology with Adapted Software