Everyone knows about Red Nose Day, right?
It’s a fundraiser for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome — and you can buy those cute red clown noses at the supermarket checkout.
And there are lots of other fundraising days that people rally behind — like Daffodil Day, Jeans for Genes, you name it!
But what about International White Cane Day?
What day?
Yes, exactly — International White Cane Day!
Who’s even heard of it?
It’s not a fundraiser — it’s supposed to be a day to raise awareness about the significance of the white cane, a symbol of independence, safety and mobility for people who are blind or vision impaired.
White Cane Day has been celebrated on 15th October every year since 1964.
And yet, here we are, 60 years later, and most people (in my experience) still have no idea what a white cane is!
Seriously, now, if a white cane had a report card, it would say: ‘ Celebrated annually by the people who already know what a white cane is.”
So, I hate to break it to you, the awareness thing is not working.
And I this could be the reason why.
The celebrations tend to happen at places that are already full of white cane users –like Guide Dogs and Vision Australia. The people who need to learn about white canes aren’t there.
Instead, why not celebrate White Cane Day at places where everyone actually goes—like Southern Cross station? Imagine a flash mob of cane users navigating the crowd, or a friendly ‘Cane Traffic Jam’ at the gates.
By celebrating the day in busy public places like railway stations, we would be making sure awareness reaches the people who need it most, and hopefully stop hearing things like …..
“What is that thing?” or “What’s she got?’
Often, it’s a child asking. And that’s OK because kids are naturally curious.
What’s not OK is when parents jump in and hiss, “Shh! Don’t ask questions!”
And just to be clear-I want to be asked questions!
So either the parents don’t know what a white cane is themselves, or they think it’s rude to ask. Instead of admitting that, they just shut the kid down.
But it’s not just kids asking questions.
You wouldn’t believe some of the things adults ask and say.
- “Is that a tent pole?”
- “Is that a stick to play fetch with your dog at the beach?”
- Is it a golf stick – not a wood, but an iron?
And then once when I got into a taxi, the driver seemed a bit uncomfortable. I snapped my cane shut as I opened the door. I sat down with my folded cane on my lap. We weren’t moving anywhere.
After a couple of seconds of being stationary, he swings his head around and asked,
“Is that for self-defence?”
My internal voice said, Yeah buddy so you’d better watch yourself. Now get me to Vision Australia toute de suite.
Surely the pre-booked destination and the fact that I couldn’t find the doorhandle of his car would’ve given him a couple of clues, that maybe – just maybe, this was a mobility aid for a vision impaired person.
(Although, to be fair, the self-defence theory… not a bad idea on some days!)
And then you get comments from people who should know better — especially the ones lurking around railway stations.
One day, I heard this large, breathless dude say:
“If you didn’t hold your walking stick so far out in front, you wouldn’t trip as many people.”
Walking stick?! Really? And was I tripping anyone?
I thought: Mate, that’s not even worthy of a reply.
On a flight, something similar happened. Since I was traveling alone, I ticked the ‘special assistance’ box, then scrolled down to select ‘low vision/blindness.’
The flight staff, as always, were helpful. I was guided across the tarmac by an attendant who seemed to know a bit about sighted guiding.
I was the first in the cabin, seated and settled—when she suddenly asked, “Can I put your walking stick in the overhead locker?”
And just the other day, I was at a train station, swinging my head left to right — you know, that thing sighted people do when they “look around.” We just do it to get attention.
Suddenly a woman came up to me and said, “Looking for something?”
It worked – help was on the way!. Guess I nailed the “head movements” after all!
I said, “Yes, I need to get to a meeting next door to Endota Spa — do you know where it is?”
She said, “Oh yes, just follow me!”
Easier said than done — but I thought, Alright, I’ll give it a shot.
And then she asked, “Can I carry that thing for you?”
I know it’s common to point when you refer to ‘that thing’ so I guess she was pointing to my cane.
But just to be sure, I asked, ‘Sorry, what are you referring to?”
She said, “That stick thing.”
I took a slow, deep breath and said, “No, I’m fine thanks. I’ve carried it every day for the last eight years.’
Honestly — are adults really that unaware of the white cane?
Thankfully, my little grandkids know a lot about white canes, blindness and guide dogs. But they still have questions and need to clarify things sometimes.
Not so long ago, my granddaughter, Alana, looked at my cane very seriously and asked:
“Nannie Annie, does your cane have eyes in the ball?”
Wouldn’t that be handy?!
But while my cane doesn’t have eyes in the ball (which, frankly, feels like a design flaw), Alana had a brilliant idea—stick big googly eyes on all the canes!
And you know what? This may be exactly what it takes to start a conversation – one that helps people realise that International White Cane Day is all about opening the world’s eyes to blindness.
Footnote: I wrote this piece of writing as a speech because of the lack of knowledge about the white cane, and the way users are treated by members of the general public. But more importantly, to create awareness about blindness and vision impairment, especially as Australia’s aging population means the number of blind people is expected to increase by 25 percent by the end of the decade.
Everyone recognises a wheelchair and understands its purpose, but what about a white cane? While our challenges may be different, both serve the same fundamental purpose – independence and mobility. Isn’t it time people learnt about the white cane?
Image: Thanks to iStock free image
