App helps blind, visually impaired with basic needs

Xia Yanping, a volunteer with the service, said: "I tried to feel what the blind feel by covering my eyes with a cloth for a while, after offering service to some low-vision people. In fact, I cannot even take the first step in the darkness. It's terribly frightening and hopeless, and that's why the blind would rather 'lock' themselves at home.

"They need sighted people to guide them to touch the beauty of the world through real communication, or just to help them meet their basic needs, such as going shopping and getting medical treatment."

On the app, over 1,000 volunteers, including university students and retirees, have registered to provide service in their spare time in Pudong New Area.

To guarantee users' safety, volunteers go through a fairly strict screening process and get trained at schools for the blind before starting the work. The app also records the route of every order and users can comment on the service quality.

"We hope to extend the service to help all disabled people in Pudong New Area in the near future, and we may promote the idea to the whole city or the nation if everything works well," Yao said.

Shen Liang, director of the Pudong Sunshine World service center, said the main challenge is to perfectly match the location and availability of volunteers with the requests of the disabled.

"For instance, most volunteers are free on weekends, but weekday orders are also in keen demand," Shen said. "Also, we need more volunteers around the Lujiazui area."

Yao said the government also needed to improve basic infrastructure construction and related legislation to protect people with disabilities.

"We expect more people to join our team to care for the disabled," he said.

Zhan Jinyao contributed to this story.