Isabelle Alacoque is a volunteer for Flying Blind. She would like to share an experience with us which she made while preparing for Flying Blind 2009. Read below what she has to say

“When I called the ONA, I suddenly remembered the name of a class-mate "Frederic Storm".
 
Frederic was a nice class-mate with a great sense of humor and a lot of energy. I remember he was not blind but had to face with terrible visual problems.
I also remember that Frederic never showed any inconvenience of being visually impaired at school. He would simply follow the classes like any other student.
 
I asked my contact at ONA if he would -by any chance- know this person and he told me "yes, he is part of the board at the ONA."
I then asked to inform Frederic about our project Flying Blind and to give him my regards.
 
Now I'm hoping to see Frederic at our event on the 8th August. It's been over 20 years since we last met!”

The ONA (Oeuvre Nationale des Aveugles) - rough translation would be National Charity for the Blind, was founded in 1922

The association has the objective to contribute by all means – and with their participation to promote and support blind or visually impaired people in all domains
The ONA activities cover the French speaking part of Belgium and regroup more than 5000 members of visually impaired people distributed across local sections.

Mission of ONA:

•  The ONA welcomes listens and accompany visually impaired and blind people in order to answer to their specific needs;
•  The ONA aims at making the public aware concerning those who are confronted to the reality of being blind;
•  The ONA is addressing the political and administrative instances over the difficulties met by visually impaired people;
•  The ONA works for a full inclusion in today’s world for those who, besides their handicap, are firstly men & women.

Fore more information on the ONA we suggest you to visit their site, at www.ona.be

What do you think when you hear the word “skydive”?

Skydiving became an international sport in the 1950s, and it has been performed as a recreational activity or competitive sport worldwide. Due to the complex nature of the technology involved in skydiving, few would have thought that handicapped individuals can partake in the sport as well.

The Flying Blind team thought differently….

Back in 2005, Alejandro Lopez Arce started up the initiative of providing blind people with free tandem skydiving sessions. The project has now turned into an annual event which takes place in a selected site in Belgium. Coordinated by Alejandro, Flying Blind  is supported by a number of DHL Employee volunteers. From amassing sponsorship, to logo design, organizing all the logistics of the event and contacting local media, the Flying Blind team puts together a day of fun and adventures for a group of blind people. The highlight of the event would be, namely, “Flying Blind” – a tandem skydive for the blind guests with their diving coach. All activities are free for the blind guests, and several months are spent on the planning and coordination of the event.

If you are interested to sponsor the project, or participate as a volunteer, leave a comment here. We promise to get back to you as soon as possible!