Sight loss charity Galloway’s is working to tackle the large number of people within Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities becoming visually impaired.

Research from RNIB shows that Asian and minority ethnic groups are at greater risk of eye diseases compared to other groups, and are more likely to go blind. Despite this, they are less likely to attend eye care appointments, allowing their sight to deteriorate.

Advertisements

As part of its commitment to providing relevant support to blind and partially sighted people, Galloway’s is working with Lancashire BME Network to raise awareness of the importance of good eye health.

Galloway’s, which has a site in Penwortham, has also launched a focus group to work with BAME individuals and community organisations to raise awareness of the help on offer.

One of the members is Pendle community radio host Saima Ashraf, who was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa at the age of 17.

Saima said: “I was very pleased to hear Galloway’s was putting together a focus group to look at issues within the BAME community.

“As I am from the Asian community, I understand some of the issues and why some people do not engage and get support. I have met a lot of visually impaired Asian people who are isolated.

“The purpose of the group is to provide people with the opportunity to meet other people going through the same thing. They can share experiences and share their knowledge of other services and activities.

“We are trying to inspire other visually impaired people about what can be achieved and remove them from isolation.”

Read more: Preston streets set to be improved for visually impaired people 

The work has been supported by a grant of £5,000 from James Tudor Foundation.

Stuart Walpole, Community Outreach Sight Loss Advisor at Galloway’s, said: “We are really grateful for the grant from James Tudor Trust, as it has enabled us to pursue our work in engaging with people from diverse backgrounds, such as those from Black, Asian, Polish and other Eastern European communities.

“We know we will have to work harder to reach these communities, as from research and experience, they are less likely to seek help if they notice their vision deteriorating, meaning they are more likely to go blind. They often experience isolation, as they feel there is a stigma around asking for support.

“So we want to reach these people and talk to them about eye care and the support we can offer, so they know they are not alone.

“There may also be a language barrier, so we are working to provide a translation of our key messages so these communities have accessible information.”

Read more: Muslim communities across Preston reminded that Covid vaccination is halal

Stuart is also a representative member of The Independent Race and Equality Panel (I-REP), which is a project of the Lancashire BME Network. 

The I-REP represents the interests of BAME and other communities, to engage with the public sector, voluntary and other services to address marginalisation and inequalities.

Read more: See the latest Preston news and headlines

What do you think of Galloway’s work with BAME communities? Let is know in the comments.