Blessed to be blind - Advocate getting national award sees disability in positive light

Though a childhood incident left Gloria Goffe-Smallwood completely blind, she says her disability is nothing short of a blessing as her resilience has been increased and her senses heightened.

This Heroes Day, the former executive director of the Combined Disabilities Association (CDA) will be conferred with the Order of Distinction (Officer Class) for her dedication and contribution to the disabled community. Still on cloud nine, Goffe-Smallwood said she was taken by surprised when she received the news.

"I always thought about recommending others, but it never once crossed my mind that I would be honoured. I am always thinking like that, and my daughter is always saying that I never think about where I can be. When I was called about it, I was shocked as it was a big surprise. It later dawned on me that it was really true, and I accept this award on behalf of the persons who allow me to serve them. It is also dedicated to my kids as a lot of times I was not at home with them," she said.

As she spoke with THE STAR, Goffe-Smallwood paused, smiled, and touched her left eye. She said she was born sighted, but when she was four years old, she fell off her donkey, on which she was riding with her sister.

"We were going to my grandfather's house, and I remember a man from the community called out to my father, and his voice echoed, and the poor little donkey jump on the bank and drop mi in the road. I hit my head. My sister broke her arm," she said.

Goffe-Smallwood said her parents immediately took her to the doctor, who dressed her cut and sent her home.

"An X-ray was never done, and about a year later, I was not seeing peripherally. My tunnel vision was okay. At school I started writing funny. I was taken to the hospital only to discover that my optic nerve was damaged over time because there was some bleeding in the head and my optic nerves were damaged. Had an X-ray been done earlier, it could have been corrected," she said.

But Goffe-Smallwood emphasised that she does not miss her eyes as she has not lost her vision. After graduating from the School for the Blind, she went on to The University of the West Indies, where she acquired a certificate in public administration, a psychology degree, and a master's degree in human resource development.

"I think losing my sight was a blessing, and it might sound weird because I look around in my community where I am from and I got the opportunity to get the education that some of them didn't get. I got the opportunity to go places some of them may never go. I have gone to different countries in the world. I got to interact with other persons who are disabled and to understand my own [disability] and what I am capable of," Goffe-Smallwood said.

The mother of three joined the CDA in 1991 and served the agency for more than three decades before her retirement approximately two weeks ago.

"I was on the board until 1999 when I took a break to complete university. I came back on the board in 2002 and I got chairmanship. I later resigned, and when the post of executive director became vacant, I was asked if I was interested, and I took it. As I said, blindness for me is a blessing as I was able to help my family. My own children never saw the blindness but saw the mother that I am," she said.