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By Julie Levin, Special Correspondent
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
February 21, 2010
When Elly du Pre gets to work in the morning, she likes what
greets her now.
The lobby of the Lighthouse of Broward in Fort Lauderdale, where du
Pre is executive director, was recently the focus of a room makeover.
"It is fabulous. People are just in awe by the change," said du Pre,
of Fort Lauderdale.
The Lighthouse of Broward is a nonprofit agency that teaches skills
to blind and severely visually impaired people so they can lead more
independent lives. She said the 200-square-foot lobby, where visitors
wait for family or friends receiving services, was previously less than
welcoming.
"It was a pretty tacky jumble of donated or repurposed pieces that
didn't have any cohesiveness or comfort level," du Pre said.
But all that would change when DUO Magazine, together with
WSVN-Ch. 7's "Room for Improvement" segment, chose the Lighthouse for a
makeover. The Hollywood-based DUO, which stands for Do Unto Others, is a
lifestyle philanthropic quarterly publication.
It had previously completed a makeover for the Ann Storck Center in
Fort Lauderdale. Publisher Ellen Sue Burton thought they could also make
a difference at the Lighthouse.
"I was struck by the austerity of the lobby, the discomfort of the
chairs and how difficult it was to get around, particularly for people
who use canes," Burton said.
They put the project in the hands of Martin Amado, the host
and designer of "Room for Improvement" and owner of The Wow Factor!
decorating firm.
"Once you walked through the front doors, there was no signage or
logo that recognized this nonprofit organization and the great work they
do for the blind and visually impaired," he said.
Amado had different challenges to consider while renovating a lobby
used by visually impaired clients. The vast majority of legally blind
people have some vision, and they rely on sharp contrasts in color and
unobstructed traffic flow to help navigate a room, du Pre said.
"It makes it easier to pick out the furniture and how to move around
it," she said.
The two shopped at City Furniture, the primary sponsor of the
makeover, to select the new pieces that would give the lobby more of a
living room feel. Instead of a coffee table, Amado selected an ottoman,
which has a much softer feel in case someone banged into it.
The Lowe's store in Pompano Beach donated new window coverings and
accessories. A large logo was made to hang behind the front desk, making
every visitor clearly aware of the agency's purpose, and they put in new
carpet. du Pre said the new look is getting rave reviews from clients.
"It makes them feel that they are valuable and being respected," she
said.
BY HANNAH SAMPSON
hsampson@MiamiHerald.com
PHOTOS BY CANDACE WEST
Samantha Arias wound her fingers through a wig of ringlets. She ran
her hands over fake skulls and a gun and felt the heavy bejeweled
costumes worn by performers in The Phantom of the Opera.
'I think it's pretty cool that we were allowed to be privileged to
touch things that other people only get to see,'' said Samantha, 16, who
is legally blind.
Samantha, a junior at Western High, and several other teenagers from
the Lighthouse of Broward got a behind-the-scenes tour of the production
running through Jan. 17 at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in
Fort Lauderdale.
Students will also be able to attend a performance on Saturday that
will be equipped with audio description -- a kind of narration that
gives key details about what is happening on stage that cannot be heard.
"Those are nuances they wouldn't be able to see,'' said Elly du Pré,
executive director of Lighthouse of Broward, which serves people who are
blind or visually impaired.
On Wednesday, the show's stage manager and wardrobe supervisor
offered wigs, nearly 20 costumes and other props -- like a fake severed
head and whip -- for the students to feel and examine up close.
"It's a stroke of luck,'' said Amanda Kleinman, 15, a sophomore at
Flanagan High who has already seen the movie.
When stage manager Jason Carroll described the show as "a classic
love triangle story,'' Amanda chimed in:
"With homicidal tendencies.''
In The Phantom of the Opera, a masked mad genius who lives under the
Paris Opera House obsesses over an opera singer named Christine. Set in
the late 19th century, the production is full of lavish costumes.
"I like looking at the fancier stuff, that's really nice,'' Amanda
said.
Some of the fancier stuff included a 35-pound hoop skirt, a gauzy
ballet gown and a heavy brocade jacket.
Matthew Ramirez, 15, a 10th-grader at Deerfield Beach High, said the
experience helped him and fellow teens "take in the texture of the
show.''
"From the audience, we could of course hear it, but most of us could
not see like normal people could,'' he said. "It helps a lot of us to
understand the show a lot better.''
The students are part of a program that seeks to prepare youths who
are blind or visually impaired to live independently, building skills
from banking to taking a bus to making meals.
At Wednesday's event, du Pré told the students that in the past, it
has been difficult for people with visual or hearing impairment to go to
the theater because it was too difficult to navigate or understand.
But more recently, she said, venues like the Broward Center have been
working to make theater accessible to everyone.
Said du Pré: "You're really being pioneers for helping a lot of
people in the future be able to enjoy the theater.''
Blind and visually impaired teens found escape and fulfillment in
outdoor activities at Lighthouse of Broward.
BY EILEEN SOLER
Special to The Miami Herald
FORT LAUDERDALE | LIGHTHOUSE OF BROWARD
There shouldn't be anything surprising about blind teenagers
climbing a 40-foot pole toward the sun, then walking under clouds across
60 feet of tightrope.
After all, the sky's the limit for the teen clients of Lighthouse of
Broward.
"It felt good -- so great to be able to get up there and be
challenged,'' said Felipe Rodriguez, 18, and the first teen to complete
the ropes course during a recent outing.
"Summer is about building confidence and trust and trying things
someone might think could never be done. We lay groundwork,'' said Brett Gili, transition coordinator for the agency.
Lighthouse of Broward, celebrating its 35th anniversary, teaches skills
to blind and severely visually impaired babies, children, teens and
adults to enable them to live more independent lives.
For 11 teens, tackling Broward College's Tigertail Lake Ropes Course on
July 24 was the exclamation point on five weeks of field trips along
with programs offered at the center's Fort Lauderdale home. Outdoor
activities added camp-like fun to the summer experience.
The teens went kayaking in Miami, ice skating in Pompano Beach, bowling
in Margate and dining at Cracker Barrel Restaurant in Pembroke Pines
before doing the ropes course, Gili said.
"Everything we do outside helps the teenagers apply skills they learn
at the Lighthouse,'' Gili said.
Eight indoor classes, led by FuturePoint charity, which fosters
self-discovery for teens, helped the kids gain the courage to turn
dreams into goals.
Volunteer Harry Congdon of Miami said the teens, who each have various
levels of sight, were challenged in classes to team up for physical
feats such as forming shapes out of long ropes and walking through a
maze.
All were blindfolded to give the teens equal advantage. "We build
self-esteem by making them step out of their comfort zones,'' Congdon
said.
Other classes focused on entrepreneurship and job skills. Teens were
inspired by successful blind adults to set goals using new ideas. They
also learned how to complete job applications and conduct themselves at
job interviews. A trip to Macy's department store let them practice
dressing for success.
As entrepreneurs, teens aimed to present a valuable new product or
service that they could make happen.
Matthew Ramirez, 15, of Sunrise, a student with limited vision who
attends Deerfield High School's communications and broadcasting magnet
program, worked on video production.
"I have the ideas in my head and I'm good at putting them together with
storyboards, shooting the scene, editing,'' Matthew said. "All I'll
need in the future is money, equipment and supplies.''
On presentation day, Matthew showed a video he produced for Lighthouse
of Broward using still shots of the group's summer happenings.
Several of the teens took summer jobs to gain work experience.
Samantha Arias, 16, of Pembroke Pines, helped a few hours each week in a
Hollywood bridal shop. A short story writer, Arias said sighted people
underestimate the blind.
"That's why we need each other, for moral support,'' Samantha said.
Her entrepreneurial idea is an electronic device that would scan a
lipstick label and announce the shade.
Felipe, 18, who lost his sight to glaucoma in 2004, said the center is
vital to helping blind teens transition to independence. A former Air
Force JROTC member and rope course enthusiast, Felipe said he is eager
to start college and live on his own.
``Lighthouse is great because we do a lot of things and hang out with
friends,'' Felipe said. ``But it's also about learning to cook, planning
the future and getting on with life.''
For more about Lighthouse of Broward, 650 N. Andrews Ave., Fort
Lauderdale, call 954-463-4217 or visit
www.lhob.org
By Desonta Holder
FORT LAUDERDALE — When Jeanette Contant-Galitello was 14, her teachers
told her that she was too spirited, too ambitious and too unrealistic.
She blew them off, and now she’s running her own business, Kiskadee
Music, and her own nonprofit corporation, Ethical Music.
The producer, composer and performer, whose stage name is Kiskadee, was
born partially sighted and is encouraging others to blow off negativity.
“Whatever the situation is, it doesn’t stop you from doing what you want
to do,’’ she told a group of teens and young adults attending a summer
camp focusing on entrepreneurship at Lighthouse of Broward County.
The organization aids visually impaired people of all ages.
“Have a lot of confidence,’’ she told them. “Even if you don’t, you can
fake it.’’
Music has always been a part of life for Kiskadee, who was born in
England and moved to Coconut Creek in 2008. Her mother studied at the
Royal Academy of Music in London. Her father was one of the early
developers of the steel drums in the Caribbean.
“Together with my brother and sister, they formed this small steel band
and we traveled all over the United Kingdom and Europe and we played in
opera houses and we were on TV and in the press,’’ Kiskadee said.
“Then they sent me to a horrible boarding school to learn Braille. It
was absolutely horrible, horrible!’’ she said.
She said she clearly remembers the sit-down she had with five teachers
and their oral assaults: “You want to achieve too much in life. … We
don’t like the way you dress; you’re too fashionable. … You shouldn’t be
talking to janitors. You shouldn’t be mixing with the likes of those
people. … Just don’t get above yourself, young lady.’’
“They were like this for three hours,’’ Kiskadee said. “I was crying,
and then I thought, the more you tell me what I can’t do, the more I’ll
show you what I will do.’’
She showed them by earning a combined bachelor’s degree in English and
French with honors from Roehampton University in London, and working for
the BBC until she hit the glass ceiling and decided to set up her own
business in 1999. Shortly afterwards, she met her husband, Christopher
Contant-Galitello, who left his job as a project manager at IBM to join
her.
He recalled a few instances when they were working with an engineer who
was taking too long to create specific effects that Kiskadee requested.
As the engineer struggled with his mouse, “Kiskadee went to her
equipment and did it in a few seconds, and it shocked him.’’
She has collaborated with celebrities including the late Michael
Jackson. She has also played in the Caribbean, South America, China and
venues including the Millennium Dome and Wimbledon.
“My most popular performance is Gimme Me One World,’’ she said. “The
theme is one God, one religion, one human race, written in a calypso
style. Ice Cream Sundae is a close follower.’’
Her big turning point happened in 2000 when she called many malls,
asking if they would like some “steel band entertainment to bring the
sunshine out, which we have very little of in London,’’ she said.
Finally, one mall agreed to let them play and set up a table to sell
CDs.
“We go to this big luxury shopping mall and she sets us up underneath an
escalator outside a grocery store,’’ Kiskadee said. “Guess what. People
started coming over one, two, five, 10, 20. It was amazing and we were
selling CDs like hotcakes. … That was the beginning of the big stuff.’’
But it’s not all glitz and glamour, she reminded the Lighthouse camp
participants.
“You have to know how to sell yourself,’’ Kiskadee said. “Think about
all the skills you have. Everyone has skills. Write them down. Identify
your business, make a business plan, put down your business goals and
sell your business. I always say to myself: Be positive and stay ahead
of the game. What is lacking? Think about what you want and what we
don’t have right now."
Rudly Jean, 17, of Deerfield Beach, might already be ahead of the game.
“I want to put speech software in iPods,’’ he said. “The Shuffles they
have, I think, is what blind people use, but I want to put software in
there so you can make it voice-activated.’’
“Sometimes it takes a little bit of ingenuity,’’ said Dee Nelson, of
Plantation, echoing Kiskadee. “We are a minority. We have to adapt.’’
Matthew Ramirez, 15, of Sunrise, said he already has created a business
plan for a video production company.
“Everybody I talked to in the last couple of weeks has motivated me more
and more to start my own business,’’ he said. “I can use advanced
programs that typical people can’t use, and even if I don’t know the
program, I learn it. I don’t say, ‘I can’t do this.’ ’’
Lauderdale group helps those with no or low vision
By Jonathan Del Marcus
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
July 5, 2009
A local nonprofit teaching agency helps people with severe visual
impairments successfully adapt and lead full lives.
The Fort Lauderdale-based Lighthouse of Broward provides a wide range of
free and low-cost programs that assist people of all age groups who are
blind or have low vision.
"Our mission is to teach blindness skills so that people become
independent again, and also to inspire hope so that their lives will be
full and productive and everything they want them to be," said Carol
McKeever, director of development at the Lighthouse.
These programs are especially needed in Broward County, which has the
highest percentage of blind and visually impaired residents of any
Florida county, said Jose Lopez Masso, the Lighthouse's assistant
director of development and community relations who lost his vision in
2001 and later became a student there.
While official statistics show there are 53,000 blind and visually
impaired county residents, McKeever said the Lighthouse believes it is
more than twice that figure.
The Lighthouse offers a summer camp for children, a summer program for
teens and young adults, a multi-functional sensory garden, a low-vision
examination clinic operated by Nova Southeastern University, and a
low-vision store operated by Florida Reading and Vision Technology Inc.
It offers courses in orientation and mobility, Braille literacy,
computers, and skills such as personal hygiene and grooming and cooking.
"We teach them it's like muscle memory. That's what a quarter of a cup
feels like in my fingers. That same technique works with lots of
things," McKeever said.
After five weeks of taking daily classes, those requiring basic skills
will have a solid foundation to live and travel independently, McKeever
said. Those who need more training and those seeking advanced skills,
however, can continue to take classes.
The Lighthouse's vocational rehabilitation program is longer and
empowers working-age adults to reinvent themselves to re-enter the job
market after encountering visual difficulties.
With a 70 percent national unemployment rate among the blind, successful
vocational rehabilitation is an important goal, McKeever said.
"The division of blind services provides, and the state funds, the
equipment needed by the employer," she said. "There's no lack of
cognitive ability on the part of the blind person. They're fully
trained, and they will be trained on that job by a teacher of the
visually impaired until they have it down."
At the Lighthouse's computer lab, the blind and visually impaired have
access to a wide range of communication-enhancing tools.
The Job Access With Speech program audibly reads all text appearing on a
computer screen in more than 70 languages, and the ZoomText and MAGic
programs magnify the type seen on the screen, said Eric Barrette, a
Lighthouse assistive technology specialist.
Before becoming blind in 2001, Lopez Masso was in charge of the
Venezuelan embassy in Berlin, Germany. He soon moved to South Florida
and enrolled in Lighthouse's vocational rehabilitation program.
"My second life started here in 2002. And I learned again how to get
control of my own life — not only back to general life, [but] how to
cook, how to take care of my clothes, how to operate the washing
machine, the dryer. It sounds like basic and easy stuff, but you have to
relearn everything again," he said.
Now a U.S. citizen, Lopez Masso, 40, began working at the Lighthouse in
this position full-time in July 2008 and has developed a strong outreach
to the local Hispanic community. He was married last year, and he and
his wife Carla, a science teacher at Coconut Creek High School, are
expecting their first child.
"Through the Lighthouse I was able to get my life back, a really active
life back. I'm active, and I'm ready to go," Lopez Masso said.
Thirteen students from Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade County
schools took part in the Florida Braille Challenge of South Florida.
BY SYLVIA GURINSKY
Posted on The Miami Herald on Sun, Mar. 08, 2009
In the early 19th century, a blind teenager in France named Louis
Braille perfected a system of dots he could use to read and write.
In this bicentennial year of Braille's birth, teenagers and younger
students came together in Fort Lauderdale to show their skills with his
system.
The Lighthouse of Broward in Fort Lauderdale recently hosted The
Florida Braille Challenge of South Florida, the first time it has taken
place locally.
Thirteen students from Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade County
schools took part. Some of them could head to the national Braille
Challenge, which will take place in Los Angeles on June 19 and 20.
The Tampa-based Florida Instructional Materials Center for the
Visually Impaired spread the word.
''They sent the information to all the vision teachers,'' said Teri
Abrams, an orientation and mobility specialist with the Palm Beach
County school district.
In Braille, six raised dots represent letters and numbers. For the
challenge, the students used a Braillewriter, a special typewriter with
six keys.
Students were classified according to skill levels: Rookie,
Apprentice, Freshman, Sophomore, Junior Varsity and Varsity.
''My Braille teacher, she told me about it, and then my mom signed me
up,'' said 10-year-old Daniella Ghunain, an Aventura Waterways K-8
Center student competing at the freshman level.
''We didn't do any special practice for this,'' said Valerie Scott,
assistant principal for itinerant services in the Broward system's
exceptional student education division. ``They work on these skills
every single day, anyway.''
Competition categories included spelling, chart and graph reading,
proofreading and reading comprehension.
Abrams brought one student, 10th-grader Helga Schreiber of Olympic
Heights High School in Boca Raton. Helga competed at the Rookie level.
PRIDE EVOKED
''I had to read three stories. I only did one,'' she said about the
reading comprehension.
Abrams was proud of Helga. ''This is the most motivated student that
ever was,'' she said.
There was also an exercise in which students listened to a
tape-recorded story and transcribed it into Braille as quickly and
accurately as possible.
''They get points for what they Braille correctly,'' challenge
coordinator Sue Glaser said.
About charts and graphs, she said: ``They have to read what the graph
is and then answer questions.''
The graphs feature raised lines and different textures.
''It has to be a different texture because some lines could be
overlapping,'' Glaser said.
Students were in a room with proctors and group guides. The guides
assisted with technical issues.
''They're just there as extra hands,'' Glaser said. ''They're either
teachers of students with visual impairments or Braille transcribers for
Broward County,'' as well as staff from the Lighthouse and
paraprofessionals.
In another room, other professionals did the grading.
''We're looking for mistakes in punctuation, spelling,
contractions,'' said Samantha Groth, a teacher of the visually impaired
in the Broward district.
ITEMS FOR SALE
Students and parents also had the chance to sample items sold by
Florida Reading & Vision Technology.
''The idea here is for people to come in and be able to try different
items from different manufacturers,'' said Lesa Kretschmer, company
president.
Ninth-grader Kyle Boga, a student at Everglades High School in
Miramar who competed at the Junior Varsity level, has his own way of
trying things.
Besides participating in the Braille Challenge, he took part in
Lighthouse of Broward's first Eye Opener 5K Run/Walk in January.
''I want to go to [Massachusetts Institute of Technology] and study
technology that could make handicapped people more independent,'' he
said.
Kyle's mother, Betty Boga, said he learned Braille about a year ago.
She credits the assistance her son has gotten.
''I think the teachers are so important. They've taught me,'' she
said.
Abrams, whose district has 127 blind or vision-impaired students,
believes more children will participate in future challenges.
''We're going to show them how easy it is, and next year, I'm sure
we'll have bigger representation,'' she said.
Finalists for the national Braille Challenge will be named in May.
The top 13 students in each division across North America will be
eligible.
For information about the Braille Challenge, including sample
questions, visit
www.brailleinstitute.org/print/65.
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