My name is Carol Farneti Foster and I have both a Biology and Medical Technology degree with 30 years experience making documentary films.  I am very passionate about not only helping the environment but also humans with disabilities. I have a disability myself and know the struggles.  I really want to help the blind people in Belize to learn and practice a unique scientifically known method called "Flash Sonar" or echolocation, so they can see the world through sound.  Here in Belize the blind struggle everyday to become independent and many are isolated because they lack specialized training. There are no schools for the blind and limited programs for them in the country.   There is only one non-profit organization called the Belize Council for the Visually Impaired(BCVI) that has a rehabilitation program and a camp every summer. They are doing an excellent job with the limited resources but can not continue with the necessary training. So I found a remarkable way to help the situation to give the blind an opportunity to have their freedom by learning how to see through sonar.

                  

While researching a documentary on bat echolocation I came across a remarkable blind person who has discovered, unknowingly at a very early age, human echolocation, and was able to find his way in the world. His name is Daniel Kish who lost his eyes at the age of 13months as a result of cancer,called retinoblastoma.  His parents always treated him like a normal child.  By the age of 15months he started 'Seeing' by making tongue clicks which echo back from objects enabling him to build a mental picture of his surroundings. Daniel is very targeted and determined. He went to normal schools and was able to ride a bike, explore parks, climb trees and cross roads with little to no help.  Eventually he obtained his own apartment and went to university where he received master degrees in developmental psychology and special education and then became the first totally blind person to be legally a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist  and to hold a National Blindness Professional Certification.                                                                                                                                       

Prominent neurologists wanting to study Daniels discovery placed him in a 3D MRI machine and recorded the echoes made from the clicks and it showed that the visual cortex part of the brain lights up making a connection with the audio cortex to allow him to form an image of the surroundings.  Daniel has proven humans that are blind, can echo locate, like bats, and called it Flash Sonar.  Once Daniel understood what was happening in his brain he knew positivity, without a doubt, that all blind people have the capability . Flash sonar is not really hearing from a neurological perspective; it is a peculiar sense all its own, trainable, surprisingly acute in experts, and capable of facilitating skilled echo locators to do many tasks that they couldn't do without the sense. Daniel trained other blind people to master Flash Sonar and in the year 2000 he stared a non-profit organization called World Access for the Blind in the USA, which to this day has taught more than 10,000 blind people in nearly 40 different countries how to see through sound. The ability of individuals vary and it requires dedication and perseverance, but the rewards are remarkable.

                        

                                     

The program would involve a trained instructor from the World Access for the Blind to teach three determined and committed subjects chosen by The Belize Council for the Visually Impaired in Belize.  Daniel says it is mandatory that their families and people from BCVI be with them so they will see how these methods work and help with follow up activities. There will be fourteen people altogether for an 8 day course.  In turn the three subjects once they mastered the Flash Sonar Technique will teach other blind people in Belize.

                                     

In order to finance this project I have to raise $16,100US dollars. This will pay fees to Instructor from Daniels non-profit organization and all other costs over the period of 8 days. It will cover fourteen people for travel, food,  accommodation, insurance and entrance fees to parks. The course is designed to not only learn Flash Sonar but push the subjects outside their normal range of activity during which they begin to learn and identify new objects and environments. They will walk the busy streets of Belize City and visit new places and events like a marine parade, a large supermarket, a museum and also go to the airport. They will go on expeditions outside of Belize City to caves to hear bats also echo locating using flash sonar to tell the difference between surface textures. They will walk in a forest and learn the sonic echoes of trees and or whatever else they find. They will go to the local vegetable market in Belmopan and swim in the river nearby at a national park. Afterwards there will be a follow up and support from the teacher, Daniel or colleague, for both students and their families. 

My husband and I will make a documentary video of the project, free of charge, which will be given to all families, people involved in the program and also to some contributors.

The BCVI can not donate funds but they can help with obtaining better rates locally providing conference space and free airfare for the instructor coming from California to Belize.

Thank you so much and hope you can give something to help with this incredible program. 

Please see video which I put together from a conglomeration of differ productions done on Daniel Kish and other blind people.  Much of the material was obtained from the World Access of the Blind and on Youtube. The material we shot was an interview with me and Rowan Garel. Rowan is one of the three subjects in this program and he really wants to learn and master Flash Sonar to teach others.

For Further Information see the video in the campaign funding program and please check the following websites and  also YouTube.

Websites- World Access for the Blind--- www.worldaccessfortheblind.org

                   Belize Council for the Visually Impaired---www.bcvi.org

                  YouTube-- Daniel Kish; Human Echolocation; Ben Underwood

                 Richard and Carol Fosters website: www.wildlifefilmproductions.net