Marist students organise cafe in the dark in AIT

Six Athlone secondary school students opened a cafe with a difference last Wednesday in Athlone Institute of Technology - one that operated in complete darkness. The innovative "Blind Cafe" idea, the brainchild of transition years Conor Flynn, Stephen Brennan, JB Boland, Mark Ryan, Ronan Devaney and Robert Bacon had the twin aims of raising awareness of blindness in Athlone, and collecting much-needed cash for the local branch of the Irish Guidedogs for the Blind. Speaking to the Westmeath Independent, Group Leader Conor Flynn said the idea came about as a result of a conversation with their teacher John Tiernan after he visited a cafe in France called "Dans le Noir". The group took the idea on board after finding that there wasn"t anything like it in Ireland. 'There are 7,500 blind people in this country and not a lot of people know what it is like. It"s really to raise awareness of that and try and get people to experience what it would be like if their dominant sense of sight disappeared. Simple everyday tasks suddenly become much more complex and, in a sense, terrifying. One of the most basic things we do each day is to enjoy a cup of tea or coffee. We were intrigued by what it would be like to experience a tea break and not see what we were doing,' he enthused. He added that the group has learnt a lot from the experience of what life is like for blind or visually impaired people in Ireland, a comment this reporter can wholeheartedly agree with after having coffee and a biscuit in complete darkness. 'It"s very scary really, you have to adapt to everything. My mother came in and she was terrified. She didn"t know where everything was and we had to help her. She said it was a terrifying experience thinking that if you lost your sight how much you would have to adapt your life,' Conor said. Fellow student Robert Bacon commented that the venture received a very positive reaction and they are hopeful it will become a more regular fixture in the future. He paid tribute to AIT Disability Support Service Coordinator Patricia Kearney, who is visually impaired for all her help and support with the project, which will be presented in the RDS next May as part of the Young Social Innovators competition. 'We were delighted in AIT to be involved with this initiative. The project mirrors work that social studies students at the institute undertake, where they go around campus blind-folded. These are powerful introductions to the world of visually impaired people and an important lesson in experiencing life from another"s completely different perspective,' Ms Kearney commented. As part of their preparations, the TY students studied the website of a blind restaurant in London, "Dans le Noir" for ideas on how the café would run efficiently. The group also researched various establishments for inspiration on how to make their Blind Café a success taking account of health and safety considerations, the customer experience and serving logistics prior to opening of the venture. In this process, the transition year students liaised closely with the Estates, Health and Safety, Catering and the Student Services functions in AIT and with the Students" Union at the institute. The group thanked AIT staff and students for their support and cooperation in making the Blind Cafe such a resounding success last week raising over €200 in the process. TY coordinator in the Marist College, John Tiernan also came in for particular praise for his assistance in getting the project off the ground and local businesses who donated supplies for the cafe.