"At the 9th of September 2015, me and my friend began our social placement with St Mary’s School for the Blind, an organisation that was founded by a group of nuns to aid those who suffered blindness and could not take care of themselves.
We took the 4 bus from Monkstown early in the morning. We were shown to our work by Gráinne, a friendly woman dedicated to aiding those in need. At first, I was unsure of why I was there. Then, as I began to hear the compliments and gratitude from the blind women, I began to understand their plight and their joy at actually being shown a helping hand from two young students.
As the weeks started to roll by, we were taught a lot by the volunteers. Foremost among them were patience and compassion for the old women who couldn't see the beauty of life, yet felt it every day.
One occasion where I started to feel close to the older people was when we were helping them play Bingo. Since they couldn't see the numbers properly, they relied on us to help them. During one game of Bingo, the woman that I was helping,along with three other women. won the game, and got small prize."
"For the past several weeks me and my friend have been getting a taste of what its like to work with the blind. On our first day we both arrived excited to crack on with some hard labour, but we were shocked to
encounter the relaxed atmosphere of the place and the most work we had to do was sit down and have a true talk with these interesting women, it was hardly work at all. We were both so interested in all of the ladies' stories and tales about their youth and what menacing things they got up to.
Although when it came to having to do a bit of work we were happy to lend a helping hand. We now feel confident when working with the women and know that we are really making a difference to their lives. It’s
almost like we are becoming a part of their little tight-knit community.
We took the 4 bus from Monkstown early in the morning. We were shown to our work by Gráinne, a friendly woman dedicated to aiding those in need. At first, I was unsure of why I was there. Then, as I began to hear the compliments and gratitude from the blind women, I began to understand their plight and their joy at actually being shown a helping hand from two young students.
As the weeks started to roll by, we were taught a lot by the volunteers. Foremost among them were patience and compassion for the old women who couldn't see the beauty of life, yet felt it every day.
One occasion where I started to feel close to the older people was when we were helping them play Bingo. Since they couldn't see the numbers properly, they relied on us to help them. During one game of Bingo, the woman that I was helping,along with three other women. won the game, and got small prize."
"For the past several weeks me and my friend have been getting a taste of what its like to work with the blind. On our first day we both arrived excited to crack on with some hard labour, but we were shocked to
encounter the relaxed atmosphere of the place and the most work we had to do was sit down and have a true talk with these interesting women, it was hardly work at all. We were both so interested in all of the ladies' stories and tales about their youth and what menacing things they got up to.
Although when it came to having to do a bit of work we were happy to lend a helping hand. We now feel confident when working with the women and know that we are really making a difference to their lives. It’s
almost like we are becoming a part of their little tight-knit community.