A Wall Made to Be Touched: Kiwanis Gives the Salvation Army School for the Blind a Tactile Mural

• The Kiwanis Club of New Kingston gave a tactile wall to the Salvation Army School for the Blind
• The gift, with ten walking canes and sensory toys, was valued at $230,000
• A recent Edna Manley College graduate designed the wall over about two months
• It was funded through the club’s Skip a Meal initiative

At the Salvation Army School for the Blind, the newest feature is a wall made to be touched. The Jamaica Observer reported that the Kiwanis Club of New Kingston donated a tactile wall to the school, together with ten walking canes and sensory toys, a gift valued at $230,000.

The wall was designed to help students develop their sense of touch. Artist Michaella Garrick, a recent graduate of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, created it and added words of encouragement. “I put words on it to let them know they are smart, intelligent, and special and loved,” she said. The work took about two months.

The project was paid for through the club’s Skip a Meal initiative and developed with the college’s Service Leadership Programme. Club president Jhenell Allen, Major Sandra Mitchell, the school’s administrator, and Kiwanis Division 23 East Lieutenant Governor Walter J Davis were among those at the handover.

The students were delighted. Seven-year-old Dianere Hibbert said: “I am very happy about the wall and the toys. I love the toys because they are soft; they are cool toys.”

The project is a small lesson in design. Buildings can be made more usable for people with disabilities without major construction. Textured surfaces, raised lettering, contrasting colours and clear, consistent layouts help blind and visually impaired people find their way and learn. Churches, church schools and faith-run homes can add many of these features during routine repairs. When a new hall or classroom is planned, including ramps, handrails, tactile paths and accessible toilets from the start costs less than adding them later. Partnerships with service clubs and art colleges, like this one, can supply both the funding and the creativity.