The International Vision Calls Foundation, based in Toronto, has launched its “Phones for Sight” program, an initiative calling on wireless phone consumers and vendors to reinvest their old phones in the international blind and visually impaired community.
Plans call for the “Phones for Sight” initiative, launched Nov. 9 in Canada, to be developed in 87 countries, commencing Jan. 1 in the United States, in support of the World Health Organization/
Vision 2020: Right to Sight Mission.
Foundation founder and telecommunications consultant Randolph Steepe started the foundation after he was diagnosed with glaucoma. Steepe said less than one-fourth of 1 percent of blind people have a cellular phone, leaving many helpless and scrambling to find a pay phone in the event of an emergency.
Since Nov. 9, more than 137,000 wireless phones have been turned in for the cause across Canada at various designated kiosks, Steepe said. The collected phones will be resold for $10 each to Michigan-based Infinity Wireless L.L.C., which will refurbish the phones for sale in Third World countries. The proceeds will be used to buy new wireless phones for the blind, who also will receive 3.5 hours of free airtime per month for life from Bell Mobility.
The “Sound of Sight” kits will be delivered to blind citizens through an international registry where charities and community service agencies can submit requests for free kits. Blind and visually impaired people also can apply for a phone at www.visioncalls.com, or call a designated 800-number and have a volunteer deliver the phone kit.
Steepe hopes to equip 40,000 Canadians and 7.3 million blind citizens internationally by 2003.
The removal of hazardous waste from the environment also is a focus of the “Phones for Sight” initiative.
“Of the millions of the deactivated cell phones in Canada, most contain the toxic metal cadmium in their rechargeable batteries,” said John Hanson, executive director of the Recycling Council of Ontario. “In fact, we know that while rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries represent less than one-tenth of 1 percent of municipal garbage, they account for 75 percent of the cadmium entering municipal landfills.”
Cadmium that leaks into community water and food supplies can cause kidney dysfunction or failure, skeletal collapse, hypertension and prostate cancer, Hanson said.
The Environmental Protection Agency is close to introducing legislation that will make it illegal to dispose of nickel-cadmium batteries in public landfills, according to Steepe. The “Phones for Sight” program will provide an alternative for consumers looking to dispose of their old phones, Steepe said.
Battery Plus Inc., National Tilden and Greyhound Canada also are collaborating on the program.
