Last Week VICTA welcomed a new member to the team - Tessa Provan who is giving up her free time to help us out in the office two days a week. We asked Tessa to write a little something to introduce herself:-

Hello!  My name is Tessa and I am 24 years old (soon to be 25!)  I have started volunteering at VCTA every Tuesday and Thursday for the foreseeable future.

My visual impairment is Cone and Rod Dystrophy, which is a progressive Retinal condition making it difficult to see long distances, distinguish detail, some colours and written material.  It also makes it difficult to see in bright sun light and as well as being night blind I also have a central blind spot, caused by my lack of cones.

Despite this lack of vision however, I have achieved a lot of my aims in life, with the support of family and friends, including completing  both Undergraduate and Masters degrees at University and pursuing my interests in the Arts – literature, drama, performance, visual arts and disability arts practice.

My long term aim is to gain relevant work experience and new skills which will improve my future employment prospects.  In the past I have undertaken several voluntary placements; including a 3 month internship in the Education Department of a London Gallery, assisting members of the public to access exhibitions at a local Gallery, writing a report on barriers to learning faced by visually impaired adults and becoming a member of a local Theatre and Gallery Steering Group to improve disabled access to their events. 

 I am volunteering at VICTA because I would like to get involved with Charity work and assisting with projects for families with visually impaired children.  This will give me the opportunity to be involved with VICTA on a weekly basis and take responsibility for some of my own tasks and projects.

I have first hand experience of being visually impaired and overcoming barriers to education and day to day living.  Hopefully I will be able to give practical advice to parents and children alike and to develop a forum for everyone to share their experiences; from how to explain to others about your visual impairment, to feedback on the latest beneficial equipment and computer software.

Look out for my blog  messages and updates  on Facebook.

Tessa