Jobs needed

The journey does not end with the visually impaired being able to walk, though. The ultimate goal is to help them live independently, for which a job is necessary.

For a long time, the only job the visually impaired could do was to become masseurs or masseuses, or, at best, open a massage parlor.

All that changed in 2014, when the National College Entrance Examination, or gaokao, introduced Braille test papers for the visually impaired.

Yang said that his trainees and friends now have a range of job options to choose from, such as software tester at R&D centers of smartphone companies, data processing for computer companies, and like Guo, even editing jobs.

In fact, these days they are able to play football, join 100-meters races, and sing. The Beijing Chaoyang Hospital's ophthalmology department head Tao is co-authoring a book of poems with Fang Huiwei, a 14-year-old visually impaired girl from Guilin city, southwestern China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

However, many organizations still desist from hiring visually impaired people, fearing they might run into trouble if such employees face some safety issues. Instead of employing the visually impaired people, some organizations prefer paying for the disabled employment security fund.

"Many people and organizations tend to treat the visually impaired as vulnerable groups needing help, but what they need is equal access to resources and equal opportunities," Yang said. "That's why we encourage them to go out of their homes independently. We hope to see the 17 million visually impaired people in China walk on the streets independently. Only when people see them as equal members of society will the visually impaired start getting equal opportunities."

Tao is working on a specialized eye health program called All See. "It might someday ensure visual impairment ceases to be a problem. But before that happens, let's get rid of the blindness in our hearts first," he said.

Contact the writers at [email protected]