How White Cane led Muyenzi to the university

Mark Muyenzi, 27, became blind at the age of four, and has for years depended on his white cane to find his way around. Despite losing sight at such a tender age, Muyenzi, the last born in a family of six, has soldiered on and will this year graduate with a degree in political science from the National University of Rwanda.Muyenzi, a resident of Kiyovu, in Nyarugenge District, says that initially, he saw himself as a burden to his family – which he says has been so supportive as he previously needed a guide to do almost everything. He adds that his life changed after he acquired the White Cane.The White Cane is a mobility tool used by the visually impaired, often with capacity to detect objects that could be in the way of the blind person, thereby making them able to walk unaided.Muyenzi occasionally refers to the cane as his ‘eyes’ saying that the comfort it gives him was behind his resolve to go back to school.He acquired the cane at 40 Euros (about Rwf54,000) when he was in secondary school.“With the white cane, I don’t need a guide as I can easily go anywhere using it and do whatever I want without any person’s aid. Through it, it is like I have eyes,” he said.“The cane helps in two ways. Firstly, it helps us to get around, and then it gives the visually impaired self confidence and the sense of independence,” he says, although he added it cannot be as effective as eyes.However, not every visually impaired is lucky enough to own the White Cane.“Currently many blind people do not have these canes; they are still guided by people or use normal sticks, which compels them to be dependent on other people,” he says.“This cane is every useful. I move around town unaided,” testifies Muyenzi.“We thank the government for all we have but we also request it to come to the aid of our colleagues to acquire the white cane. The fact that you can’t get it when you need it is a big problem,” he says.He wonders how people with other disabilities are able to receive equipment like crutches, wheel chairs among others using the mutuelle de santé medical insurance scheme yet those visually impaired cannot get the cane.According to Donatille Kanimba, the director of Rwanda Union of the Blind (RUB), the white cane plays a significant role as it serves the role of a human eye but says it is difficult for them to easily obtain them.“The White Cane is very important for us because it is like an eye and helps us to move freely without any guidance. But we face a serious challenge getting them because they are not readily available in Rwanda,” laments Kanimba, adding that the canes are in various categories with the cheapest costing between $30 and $40.She discloses that the RUB has requested the Ministry of Health and other institutions to facilitate their availability in the country and ensure that visually impaired Rwandans can access them through the Mutuelle de Santé medical insurance.“We addressed the problem to all institutions including the Ministry of Health and the National Council of People with Disabilities but we are yet to get a response,” she says.“Other equipment for disabled people such as crutches and wheel chairs are covered by the community health insurance but the White Cane is not included yet the canes are very expensive for most blind people,” she observes. According to Kanimba, RUB has a membership of 66,000 but only around 2,000 own white canes mostly provided by donors.“The majority of the blind people use walking sticks thus burdening members of the society who have to guide them,” she states.Pierre Claver Rwaka, a legislator who represents people living with disabilities in parliament, says there is an ongoing advocacy to increase access to the white cane. “We know that and we are still requesting the Ministry of Health to make various devices easily available in Rwanda.” “All those devices are supposed to be given out as long as one has medical insurance cover but they are still scarce in Rwanda.”He says that the canes should normally be stocked in pharmacies for easy access. The day of the White Cane is internationally celebrated on October 15 annually.