Pancyprian Organisation of the Blind (POT)
The Pancyprian Organisation of the Blind (POT) was established in 1980 by 20 blind and partially sighted people, citizens of Cyprus. Until then, sighted people, members of the Pancyprian Association for the Welfare of the Blind were representing the blind people in Cyprus and abroad.
The Organisation is non-governmental and mainly charity funded. The main financial supporter of the Organisation is the Association mentioned above, which is still working on fund-raising activities and projects for the welfare of the blind in general.
The Organisation’s main office is located in Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus and has three other local offices in the main towns of the country.
The Organisation accepts as members any person over the age of eighteen whose visual acuity is below 1/10 in the best eye even with the use of any corrective lenses or spectacles. The Organisation has today 1283 members out of the estimated 2850 persons with a visual impairment that live in Cyprus. The small population of individuals with vision impairment along with the small geographical area of the island allows for support and services to be provided on a very personal basis, giving an insight into individual needs.
Among the main goals of the Organisation are:
- The promotion of the social welfare of the visually impaired
- The prevention of blindness and the promotion of medical treatment
- The promotion of education and vocational training as well as the rehabilitation and integration of the visually impaired
- The acquisition of required and appropriate technical aids and appliances for work and the daily life
- The creation of conditions and situations for equivalent living standards and the integration of visually impaired persons into the community in general
- The dissemination of information with regard to the problems and the welfare of the visually impaired, and
- The development and promotion of sports among and between the visually impaired.
In order to achieve its goals, POT maintains and runs social services, rehabilitation services, training services in special methods in the use of electronic and other aids, Braille and talking book libraries, transcription and recording services, information services, vocational training services, legal advice and consultation services, services for national and international relations, sports programmes, recreational activities, leisure and entertainment.