Our charity invites beneficiaries for gardening session
A group of blind veterans recently got together at our London headquarters to brush up on their gardening skills.
Gardening and Wellbeing
Activities like gardening can be great for veterans’ health and wellbeing, giving them a real sense of purpose and the opportunity to get out of the house and forge new friendships.
Activities and Rehabilitation
As well as gardening we arrange activities like baking, card making and even chair-based yoga – and they are always tailored to the needs of vision-impaired people so that they can get the most out of attending. Isobel Whelan, a Rehabilitation Officer for the Visually Impaired (ROVI), often attends the sessions and believes the main benefit for our blind veterans is the boost it gives to their confidence.
“We often see transformations taking place during activity days. The veterans all support each other and share advice to help them with the activities. Many of them live alone, so it’s a great opportunity for them to talk to others in the same situation, and they often find that they have a lot in common.”
Rehabilitation Officer for the Visually Impaired (ROVI)
That was certainly the case for Bob Wyeth, who did his National Service as a Driver/Mechanic in the Royal Signals. Bob says: “The gardening session has allowed me to get out of the house and there was nothing I needed to worry about as Blind Veterans UK arranged everything."
"The company is what I enjoyed the most - there was a great camaraderie between us all. It's great mixing with other visually impaired personnel. The support I've got from Blind Veterans UK has grown my confidence no end - which means I can continue doing things I love."
Blind veteran
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