Handover Meeting- Hayley from Woking High School

This week was the Handover Meeting. Normally the outgoing President hands over to the incoming President.
However, this year Carol Cheesman is continuing for another year. We also had a speaker Hayley Xie, a pupil
at Woking High School aged 15. Hayley was accompanied by her parents and teachers and staff from the
school, which now has a dedicated unit for pupils who are blind or visually impaired. Hayley has been visually
impaired since the age of six. She told us about the challenges of living with visual impairment and in particular
how difficult it is for blind and partially sighted people to navigate disabled toilets. For example, a partially
sighted friend accidentally pulled the emergency cord in one. Hayley’s proposed solution is for public venues,
such as schools, supermarkets, shopping centres, libraries, community centres, transport hubs and public toilets
to install tactile maps on the doors or walls of disabled toilets. Using raised symbols and textures, the maps
would show: Layout: Position of the toilet, sink, and hand dryer; Controls: Locations of the flush, soap, and
toilet paper; and Safety: A clear distinction between the light switch and the emergency cord. Before entering
the toilet, a blind or visually impaired person should then easily understand the layout of the space. Hayley says
that this would be a small, low-cost change which could create a huge difference by making “accessible” toilets
become truly accessible for all. She has launched a petition on change.org which you can sign. Just search for
“Installing Tactile Maps in Accessible Bathrooms for Blind and Visually Impaired People”. Keith Tatlock proposed
the vote of thanks to Hayley thanking her for her excellent and well-argued presentation. Keith also gave the
vote of thanks to Carol for her year as President. He said that this would normally be given by the new
President. Keith said that Carol has been very energetic in her role as President in the past year. Thanks to her
and to other members of the Woking Rotary Club team, the Club has recruited a number of new individual and
corporate members, strengthened links with Clamart, Le Plessis Robinson & Vélizy Rotary Club in France, who
visited the UK this year, and organised a number of fundraising and social events such as the Swimathon and
the Summer Ball raising £27,000 for local charities. We have also had a Club Ramble in Bushey Park and visit to
a Woking Youth Theatre production of the Little Shop Of Horrors and a visit to the pantomime in Pyrford.