Visually impaired find little public help as they struggle to cope
As job opportunities vanish along with their eyesight, the legally blind have trouble finding organisations willing and able to help them cope
With a genetic degenerative eye disease, Ricky Yan Po-kee is fast losing his sight. His condition has also cost him his job, confidence and independence.
And while he struggles daily to overcome his worsening condition, he finds there are few public services available to help him.
Yan, 50, inherited retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease that causes vision impairment and eventual blindness. Currently only 30 to 40 per cent of his eyesight remains.
"It's a bewildering time - especially in the beginning. I did go to retraining, but otherwise there is little help in adapting to a new life," Yan said. "The biggest problem is that it's almost impossible to find a job now."
He lives in an old tenement building near Yau Ma Tei's century-old fruit market. At around 70 square feet, his subdivided flat is the smallest of the three carved out from a unit on the first floor.
"It's a gradual degeneration. My sight is very fuzzy," Yan said. "But I've lost more than my sight - I've lost my job, my confidence and my independence."
His eyesight deteriorated dramatically in 2007, causing him to lose his job in 2009. Before that, his wife divorced him and took their daughter.
