Blind with a positive attitude: How Oliver Kerr does it

By Telesha Ramnarine

Oliver Kerr has not forgotten how his life drastically changed when he was nine years old and acquired retinal detachment, an eye condition that caused him to go from being fully sighted to not seeing at all.

But one thing that has truly helped him over the years is maintaining a positive disposition about everything.

In an interview with News Room on Thursday, at the Guyana Society for the Blind in Georgetown, where he spends some of his days, the former Guyana and West Indies blind cricketer (2006-2010) joked that people do not believe him when he tells them that he has no challenges.

It’s not that he is free of all troubles and uncomfortable situations in life, but his attitude towards these things makes all the difference. “I always keep an open window to the positive side of life. I think that is my key to getting by in life; always keep a positive mindset,” he expressed.

In the context of Road Safety Month, Oliver shared how he is safely able to navigate the roadways, and how the public can be more supportive towards persons with disabilities. He is hoping that the public, especially the operators of public transportation, will extend a little more courtesy to persons who are blind or visually impaired.

One of the challenges of using the roadways is the picky attitude of some operators of public transportation, who will choose to pick up sighted persons over persons with a disability. “We have things to do like everybody else. We have our money to pay like everybody else. It’s not like we are looking for a free ride,” Kerr appealed.

Because of having to cope with some drivers who do not have much patience, he explained that persons with a vision disability would need to come up with their own techniques for how to get home. “Sometimes you count the speed bumps on the road, or use various landmarks on the street,” he shared.

Even so, using a minibus may only prove advantageous up to about 19:00 hours. Anything after this would require a taxi, which brings up the issue of finances. “We only come out when we have important things to do. It’s difficult to cope with the finances for transportation,” he said.

He, however, embraces the fact that life must come with challenges, and he has to find ways to overcome them.