When my son and his partner told me they were expecting their first baby, my grandchild, in autumn 2018, I was thrilled and very excited. Ezra was born on 29th July 2019, and I met him for the first time two weeks later when I travelled to Scotland. I felt as though I wanted to burst with love and pride for this beautiful little boy I held in my arms. In 2022, Ian and Lisa announced they were having another baby, and that same thrill of love and pride swept over me in anticipation of the new arrival. On 14th March 2023, Isaac was born, another beautiful little boy whom I rushed over to hold as soon as I could. Ezra is now five and at school while Isaac is heading towards his second birthday. Those two little boys are the very heartbeat of my being. The warmth of their young bodies wrapped around mine each time we meet is something very special to behold. Their laughter, their squeals, their mannerisms and their different characteristics fill me with joy every day, and I am so thankful to take such an active role in their young lives. But their being my grandsons has also given me inspiration to carry out the work I do with young people who are blind or severely visually impaired in schools across Northern Ireland, a fulfilment I have to thank Ezra and Isaac for.
I have always believed that every person has the right to an education regardless of their circumstances. Indeed, I studied hard myself in later years to achieve a Masters Degree. So when I started working for RNIB as a Technology For Life Coordinator in October 2022, my Line Manager asked me how I would feel about supporting young blind students in schools in NI with their Braille and screen reading technology. I didn’t have to sit and ponder the question, my answer was instant: ‘I’d love to.’ In a way, it was as though I had been given something that I didn’t know existed within me. I am not a religious person in the least, but that moment was a defining one in my life, a sense of vocation that I sincerely believe today was borne out of my love for my two little treasures, Ezra and Isaac.
It was therefore on 6th January 2023 that I met my first pupil, and just as importantly, her network of support staff. From that day on, I became dedicated to supporting pupils who are blind like myself in the use of their assistive technology. It isn’t, and never has been, just a job. For me, those young students are blind people going to mainstream school in a very sight-dominated environment. I admire each and every one of them, and have always tried to encourage them while passing on my own knowledge and lived experiences. After all, they are the future. They have to make their way in a society that is often corrupt, prejudiced and cruel. In their own way, Ezra and Isaac are my inspiration to support those students I continue to train every week.
When the Technology For Life team in which I worked at RNIB disbanded in the summer of this year, I knew I had to maintain my involvement with the pupils and their support network. So when I was offered the post of Digital Skills Engagement and Events Officer at RNIB on a job share basis, I realised part of that role would no longer include my work with the Education Authority of Northern Ireland, (EANI.) But a plan was already hatching in my head. I decided to start my own business where I could continue supporting tactile learners and their cohort of wonderful, dedicated staff. So STRIVE Ability was formed, and I now devote a Thursday and Friday to my education work while working for RNIB on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in training volunteers and partner organisations in the use of technology.
The way this arrangement has panned out couldn’t be better as far as I am concerned. I enjoy my new role at RNIB, and I love supporting the eight or so pupils I train online or face-to-face. But I don’t think any of it would have come about without Ezra and Isaac, my two little class acts! Getting up every day and doing something I genuinely love is thanks to them. My work, interspersed with visiting my grandchildren, has given me more than anything else I could ever have dreamt of. I don’t need anybody to tell me how lucky I am, I know it! ❤