Interview with Lois Strachan

Lois Strachan Interview with

“Thankfully, I am great at problemsolving, so I took it as a dare to overcome each of the barriers

that I encountered.”

Ed: I became interested in your career, not only because you are a blind person, but because of your impressive achievements that any sighted person would be proud

of. I quote from your bio: “When Lois became blind at the age of 21, she realised she had a choice – to go home and give up, or to go out and see what was still possible for her as a blind person living in a sighted world.“ Losing one’s sight at that

age must have been devastating. What were the toughest challenges you faced during the first year?

LS: There were a couple of things that were hard for me. I had to relearn new ways of doing absolutely everything without sight, and I really do mean absolutely everything. And sometimes it was hard for me to accept I had to adjust to such a degree. I also lost a few friends who weren’t able to cope with my new reality, and that was difficult. Thankfully, it was only a very few people who chose to step out of my life, where I believe others who have gone through the same situation have lost far more friends and family members. Finally, I think the most difficult thing for me to accept was my loss of independence – I’d only had my driver’s license for about 18 months and the novelty of being able to go where I wanted, when I wanted hadn’t worn off. So that was the hardest adjustment for me to make.

Ed: What was the cause of losing your sight?

LS: Diabetic retinopathy. I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when I was 6 years old and had no idea that I was at risk of eye problems until it was far too late. Ed: I can’t wait to ask you about your rock band –

what gigs do you play?

LS: Sadly I’m not playing much music at the moment. I simply don’t have time, with so much else happening – my speaking, writing, blogging, and the accessible travel podcast I host. Not to mention the disability advocacy work I’m involved with. The last time I played live on stage was as part of a show at the National Arts Festival in Makana (Grahamstown) last year. While I miss playing live, I still regularly pick up a guitar and play for the fun of it.

Ed: As a motivational speaker, can you “feel”

the room?

LS: Yes, to a degree. My speaking style is quite interactive, which helps, but usually I can pick up on the emotional response from my audiences, both as a speaker and as a musician.

Ed: What is the core message you like to bring in

your talks?

LS: My speeches focus on teaching audiences ways to overcome the challenges they face in their work or personal lives, by sharing some of the techniques I learned after losing my sight. But I also like to raise awareness of some of the tools and techniques I use on a daily basis when accomplishing tasks.

Ed: Tell me about; “A different way of seeing”

LS - One of the greatest barriers we face as the blind and visually impaired community is that sighted people assume we can’t do things because they don’t know how we do them. In “A Different Way of Seeing” I explain how I accomplish simple, and not-so-simple, tasks and share my personal journey of living life without sight. It’s an easy-reading and lighthearted look at the world from my perspective.

Ed: How do you ”read” your emails?

LS: I guess the first thing to explain is that I use a standard Windows computer, and a standard iPhone. Both have software on them that convert text to speech. These screen reader apps mean I can access almost anything on my digital devises, including documents, spreadsheets, e-mail, and most PDFs and websites. I also have apps on my mobile phone that mean I can get an idea of what appears in an image, read print documents and use GPS to help me navigate. And, to preempt a follow-up question, I usually type using the keyboard rather than using dictation.

Ed: How did the idea of Missy Mouse come about?

LS: I originally wrote the stories when I was first learning to use a screen reader. When my teacher told me the best way to learn was to type as much as I could, I started writing poems, songs and short stories. Amongst the short stories were four stories about a blind mouse who was using her other senses to engage with the world around her. I think writing the stories was a way for me to process some of the blindness skills I was learning myself.

Ed: In 2015 you received a prestigious award - what was

it about?

of endeavour. The finalists are suggested by members of the public. I was awarded a Tributes Award in the category of literature and education.

Ed: And Goodwill Ambassador? LS: I serve as an ambassador for several organisations, assisting them with awareness raising and fundraising efforts. At the moment I am enjoying being an ambassador for the Cape Town Society for the Blind (CTSB) and the South African Guide-Dog Association for the Blind. Both are organisations that do great work facilitating independence for people with visual impairments.

Ed: You hold a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in

English Literature and Classical Civilisations, an Honours degree in Classical Civilisations from the University of KwaZulu Natal, a diploma in practitioner Coaching Skills, a Certificate in Human Resource Management from UNISA, and is a Distinguished Toastmaster. How on earth did you achieve all of that?

LS: One step at a time. There are several challenges that studying can present for a blind student. Thankfully, I am great at problem-solving, so I took it as a dare to overcome each of the barriers that I encountered. I’m also grateful that those running the courses have always been willing to find a workable solution.

Ed: Fiji your guide dog must be special – how long

have you been together?

LS: Fiji and I have been working together for four wonderful years. I have enough stories about the amazing experience of working with a guide dog that I could fill an entire book – over and above the chapter about my guide dogs in “A Different Way of Seeing”. Oh, and Fiji writes a guest article on my Beyond Sight Blog once a month.

Ed: Being a muso – who is your

favourate artist?

LS: That’s such a tough question. My favourite style of music is modern rock, but my tastes are quite diverse. The music I write is primarily acoustic rock.

Ed: How did you meet your husband, Craig?

LS: We met through music. We both attended a braai for a local music festival, and he fell in love with my guide dog. Actually, it was a little more complicated than that, but you’ll have to read my book to get the full story! LS: Yes

Ed: Thank you Lois, for inspiring. I want to leave our

readers with a testimonial from one of your workshops:

“Lois Strachan held our audience spell bound with her eloquent presentation at the Cape Town branch of Fine Women Business Network. Her forthright and honest story of going blind at 21 and yet achieving her life’s dreams, left us astounded and in awe. You are not going to attend a pity party with Lois, you are going to leave feeling inspired, enriched and ready to celebrate life.”

For more information:

Website: www.loisstrachan.com Twitter: @LoisStrachanZA Facebook: www.facebook.com/loisstrachanspeaker LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lstrachan Podcast Feed: https://iono.fm/rss/chan/3715

Be My Eyes

Be my eyes is a free app that connect blind and low vision people with sighted volunteers for visual assistance through a live video call. Every day, sighted volunteers lend their eyes to solve tasks big and small to help blind and low-vision people lead more independent lives.