Welcome to Catherine Birchall's Web
site.
The site has been set up so that you can
follow the travels of this remarkable blind woman as she covers 25,000 miles
around the world by motorcycle. As such, the site will contain events and
happenings as we travel across the world by motorcycle. It will contain
travel, culture, blindness, gender and many other aspects that bind us all
together. At times it will also be, unfortunately, about those things which
divide and separate people due to ignorance and lack of understanding.
While this is true,
the main reason we are completing this very unique trip is primarily to raise
awareness about visual impairment. As you may, or may not know, there is a lot
of misunderstanding around this area. We want to clarify and promote debate
around some of the issues involved. If nothing else we want to inform and
entertain people with information from around the world.
We hope that, by our
efforts, issues such as the availability of reading materials for all
print impaired people, and the current campaign by the
leading organisations regarding the
Disability Living Allowance
will be highlighted. We aim to keep issues such as this very much in the
forefront of the media throughout the build up to, during, and after this trip.
When we return we will tour the UK to meet and discuss the trip in
seminars and forums.
With the support of
the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), Action for Blind People,
Guide Dogs for the Blind Association (G D B A) and Dolphin Computer Access, we
will be visiting projects along the route who work with visually impaired
people like Catherine. At the same time we have set out to raise a considerable
amount of money for essential services for blind and partially sighted people.
In circling the globe we are set to visit
countries such as Russia, China, and India before heading overland to Australia. From there we will arrive in South America, riding up through the United States and into Canada before returning home. During the trip
we aim to share experiences and perceptions of what it means to be visually
impaired in different cultures.
Catherine herself
notes that
“…across the world there
are 161 million people who are visually impaired of which about 45 million
people are blind like me. This is nearly the population of England. In the UK alone we have
in the region of 2 million people with sight loss and so much needs to be
done. She goes on to say that “I have always believed that being blind
means I see the world in a different way. That’s all. I want to show people
their life isn’t over because they lose their sight. Even if it is just
possible for one person to see a new beginning the trip will be worth it.”
We are set to start
the trip in the summer of 2008 with a tour of the UK.
During the first month we will be visiting various organisations around the United Kingdom to highlight the trip and to raise
funds. During these visits we will be appearing on local TV and Radio to
highlight many of the issues associated with sight loss.
Twelve months later
after circling the globe we will return. On arriving back in the UK we will be writing about our
experiences on the journey in a book entitled ‘A blind Woman, two wheels and
25,000 miles’ which will be available in all formats.
We hope to see you at
one of the forums on our return where we will share our journey with you.
Best wishes and
fingers crossed!
Please sign in the
guest book as it will be good to know how many people are following our
progress.