Blind Low Vision NZ there every step of the way

Having been a member of Blind Low Vision NZ since she was a baby, Chantelle can’t remember a time without their support.

Chantelle was diagnosed with a congenital eye condition called Optic Nerve Hypoplasia when she was a baby, which means she has underdeveloped optic nerves. She has been a member of Blind Low Vision NZ ever since.

“I rely heavily on my sense of touch, hearing and smell to do everything” Chantelle explains.

Throughout her life, Chantelle has used many of the services that Blind Low Vision NZ has to offer. She says if it wasn’t for the Accessible Formats service, she would not be able to participate in all the various musical ensembles and choirs that she loves. Since she was a child she turned to Accessible Formats for electronic and hardcopy braille books, textbooks, diagrams, and of course music.

This became a passion of Chantelle’s and she even began a successful career as a braille proofreader.

She says “the skills I learned during those years have been fundamental to my career success and passion for braille to date”

Through her passion for braille, she found another passion of hers – music. “Playing, arranging and listening to music is one of my favourite pastimes” she says. Chantelle can read and write braille music, she sings, plays the piano, flute and is currently learning how to play the violin. Once a month she also volunteers at a music school run by BLENNZ. “We nurture and explore musicianship and braille music skills for blind and low vision rangatahi”.

Chantelle is now helping to shape the next generation of children who are blind, deafblind or have low vision, and it’s thanks to your support.