Metford resident Mick Baker has barely enough sight to tell if it’s night or day.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But at 63 he’s discovered a passion for cooking since Vision Australia translated some cookbooks into Braille.
“I got some recipe books Brailled out for me,” he said. “I married a good cook, but I thought I’d better learn.”
Cooking is one several challenges Vision Australia has helped him with over the years.
Vision impaired his whole life, Mr Baker still managed to hold down a few jobs.
“Way back when I got retrenched from the metal trades I did an office skills course and without Vision Australia I wouldn’t have ended up at the [Australian Tax Office] ATO,” he said.
“I did a lot of different jobs at the ATO, including debt collection and record management.”
Mr Baker moved to Maitland in 1995. He is able to use computers through a text-to-voice system that Vision Australia also helped with.
Now he helps others learn the system on Wednesdays and Fridays when he volunteers at the Vision Australia Hamilton office.
“I’ve met different people and I love it,” Mr Baker said. “It’s kind of like peer support where you might also talk about other issues they have.”
Nearing $25,000
Vision Australia will receive about $25,000 from the 2015 Maitland Garden Ramble to help Hunter people.
“We’re close to $24,000 at this stage,” Black and White Committee president and ramble co-ordinator Kathy Willmott said. “The money is still coming in and it looks like we’ll reach $25,000.”
The ramble included eight gardens for people to visit around Maitland for a small admittance fee on September 19 and 20.
“Many of our visitors took part in the Ramble after reading about it in the Mercury and we’re grateful for that,” Mrs Willmott said. “It’s good to be able to help the clients of Vision Australia right here in the Hunter.”
