More blind and vision-impaired New Zealanders will soon be surfing the internet, using email and moving into tertiary education or new jobs thanks to a three-year partnership between Vodafone and the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind.

Paula Daye sitting in the co-branded (Vodafone/RNZFB) Adaptive Technology vehicle with Vodafone CEO Russell Stanners looking on.

The partnership makes Vodafone the "lead partner" in delivering Adaptive Technology to the RNZFB's 11,500 members, and is supported with $800,000 of funding from the Vodafone New Zealand Foundation.

"This partnership will let us take our evolving Adaptive Technology programme to a whole new level," says RNZFB Chief Executive Paula Daye. "We could not have done this by ourselves and we are thrilled to have Vodafone's expertise and their passion to take our services out into the community."

Mrs Daye said the funding from the Vodafone NZ Foundation was very significant and underpinned a "brilliant" relationship that would benefit RNZFB's members and Vodafone employees alike.

The RNZFB has been offering its Adaptive Technology training mainly through 10-week classroom courses in Auckland and Wellington, but the cost and inconvenience of getting to and from these courses has been an obstacle for many blind people.

"We've had some excellent results in adaptive technology, but there's many more people we need to reach in New Zealand communities," says Mrs Daye. "The partnership with Vodafone means we now have Adaptive Technology Mobile Units to take our services to community halls or even the homes of blind people. We will also pilot weekend and evening courses in some centres.

"This technology, which most people take for granted, can and will change blind people's lives," says Mrs Daye.

Vodafone New Zealand Chief Executive, Russell Stanners, says the relationship with RNZFB is unique and evolving.

"We're proud that the Vodafone NZ Foundation has been able to make a significant financial grant to the RNZFB, but this partnership is about how our company – Vodafone New Zealand Limited – can make a difference too.

"We want to be involved in the RNZFB's activities and understand how information communications technology can make a difference to the lives of their 11,500 members."

The Vodafone NZ Foundation grant will pay the salaries of three full-time Adaptive Technology staff, including one who is blind.

With this guaranteed funding, the RNZFB's Adaptive Technology Training Unit courses will help blind, deaf blind and vision-impaired people of any age to:

Use a wide range of programmes on computers equipped with screen -reader software or refreshable Braille

Harness the power of the internet to use email, conduct research, do internet banking, or search for employment

Gain the skills and confidence to help them find employment (with RNZFB's help) or enter a university or polytechnic.

Vodafone and the RNZFB have been working together for the past 18 months on a range of projects.

Late last year Vodafone, through its graduate programme, raised $37,000 to take vision-impaired teenagers on a weekend retreat to the Hunua Ranges. It provided them with an outdoor experience that challenged them and offered the opportunity to socialise with other blind and vision-impaired teenagers.

"We've achieved a lot through our partnership already and are looking forward to our continued success in bridging the digital divide for blind people," says Mr Stanners.

ENDS

For more information, please contact:

Tracey Palmer
External Communications Manager
Vodafone New Zealand
021 628 129

Or

Bill Moore
Communications Manager
Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind
09 355 6867