Durban’s Cathryn ‘runs blind’ for charity

LOCAL teacher, Cathryn Aylett, believed working with visually impaired children had given her insight into what the children live with each day, however, she says she never felt more humbled than when she decided to put on a blindfold and take on the 10km CitySurfRun recently.

Cathryn, who works at Bright Eyes Centre in Berea with Carron Strachan, who is visually impaired, recently started the Running Blind campaign, in a bid to encourage parents of visually impaired children to ensure their children are active and take part in everyday life.

“My aim with Running Blind is to start a movement to encourage visually impaired people to be more active and to encourage sighted people to see what they have to deal with on a daily basis,” she said.

The CitySurfRun, her first major event turned out to be an exhausting experience for her.

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“I have never experienced anything more dignity stripping than what I went through at the race. I was exhausted on the day just by walking, and was so frustrated as I just wanted to relax my body and run, but I couldn’t! I really feel there should be more visually impaired people taking part in races such as this and others, but through this experience, I realised the events don’t accommodate people with sight impairments, it is not seen as the norm,” she said.

Cathryn said she now had an inkling of an understanding of what Carron has to deal with while working with her at the Centre and is gaining a better understanding of the children at the school.

Cathryn said she received a lot of support for the campaign and a woman had suggested doing a blindfolded beachfront yoga session next month as well. She will now be taking on the 21km Sapphire Coast Marathon on 29 October.

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“People are excited and interested in the notion of doing something different. One sponsor pledged R2 000 if I finished the 10km which is extra motivation for me. They said if I finish the 21km, they will pledge a further R7 000. More companies are coming on board and this run has the potential to fund our playground revamp, which is what I’m aiming for too. I am trying to live up to our slogan of ‘how far will you go for change?'” she said.

If you want to support Cathryn by sponsoring her race, deposit into the account: Bright Eyes Trust, First National Bank, Florida Road, branch code: 220526, account number: 62619601257, reference: Running Blind.

Sponsors can also go through the GivenGain Crowd Funding Page: www.givengain.com/cc/runningblind/

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