In 2016 and 2017, the Polish Association of the blind, together with the Chance Foundation carried out the project VIP System+. It was very unique in comparison to other activities. Firstly, it was addressed to the visually impaired with all disability levels, which is unusual as most of the projects are for persons with severe and moderate disabilities. It was also addressed to people over sixteen as similar projects are mainly for persons over eighteen. Unlike other projects, VIP system+ had participants who were either employed or jobless. Those without employment could gain qualification skills and people who had been employed had an opportunity to master new ones, whereas others gained professional certificates enabling them to remain in employment.
Moreover, the project also gave an opportunity to participate in various leisure activities. The self-defense course, designed especially for the visually impaired was among the very interesting initiatives. The wide range of activities, flexibility and unique qualification criteria have made this project really attractive to those who had some spare time to change their life for the better.
The project VIP System+ was jointly carried out by Polish Association of the Blind and the Chance Foundation. It was financed by the Municipality of Warsaw and thus addressed to the visually impaired who live in the capital of Poland.
In total, the project involved 116 participants who benefitted from about 1000 hours of individual classes according to their preferences. It gave an opportunity to attend a wide range of courses, among them were such interesting individual courses as barista, sommelier expert, phytotherapist and an archive worker. In addition, the project results include two videos about modern technologies used by the visually impaired. These two videos will also be used in the future to illustrate in what ways modern technologies are helpful.
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