Mc Gregor Webb, 37, is visually impaired but has mastered his handicap in such an extraordinary way that he lives a perfectly normal life, just as if he has no disability. Webb lives, literally, by faith and not by sight.
“I live in hope. Practising moving around without sight for a number of years has also helped,” he said.
Webb has his own home at Edinburgh 500, Chaguanas, and a regular eight to four job in Port-of-Spain and commutes daily to and from work. Using his cane to make a mathematical calculation, he skips over floodwaters in the city when it rains. He goes to the grocery, cooks his own meals, cleans and redecorates his house and does almost everything by himself. He rarely hires a vehicle to take him anywhere.
Not a complaint about his disability ever escapes his lips and he has nothing negative to say about his life. “I try to be positive. It makes no sense going into a corner and moping.”
Describing a regular day for him, Webb said he rises at 4 am, goes to the bathroom, gets dressed and walks down the street in the morning darkness to catch the maxi taxi waiting on the corner for 4.40 am. He gets off at City Gate, Port-of-Spain, and listens for the bell to know when to cross the street.
“Or I listen for when people are crossing. Sometimes, people help me across.”
Using his cane, Webb walks up Henry Street, across Queen, unto Frederick, through Woodford Square, down Knox, up St Vincent and down Duke until he comes to the entrance of the Blind Welfare Association’s workshop, where he is permanently employed. Here, he spends the day doing chair caning and other craft. “We redo rattan chairs for people and make baskets from scratch for sale.”
On evenings after work Webb walks back with the rush hour pedestrian traffic to City Gate to catch the 4 pm Edinburgh 500 bus. “People make sure I get to the top of the line and inside the bus.”
At home, if Webb feels like “changing around the living room”, he does so. “I learned how to sweep. You don’t need to see to sweep. I sweep barefoot. I go back over the floor and feel any dust I missed.
“Same with mopping. I mop criss cross, left and right, up and down to make sure I don’t miss a spot.”
In the kitchen, Webb moves with astonishing accuracy when cooking. “I make macaroni pie, stewed chicken, peas, pelau, mashed potatoes, salad. I did a cooking course last year.
“For pie, I average how much macaroni I want, break it and put it in the pot on the stove. I measure salt with a teaspoon, average one pound of cheese and grate carrots to add to the other ingredients.”
Webb walks to the grocery and a worker helps him buy what he needs. I tell them saving money is the name of my game.
“I pay the grocery porter a little extra and he takes my items to the taxi stand. Some of the taxi drivers put the goods by my door for me.”
T&T’s money, except the new $50 bill, is not adapted for the visually impaired and Webb has to trust people when it comes to paying them and receiving change. He has been robbed a few times. “They are not robbing me. They are doing themselves a wrong,” he said. He goes on line using a speech sensitiser, and has a similar system for his cell phone to dial numbers.
Webb was born with retinitis pigmentosa and had a normal childhood. “During the day my sight was fairly good but I got trouble in the night.”
By 18, his sight was virtually gone and he enrolled at the School for the Blind in Santa Cruz. Webb’s family members migrated but he remained because he did not want to start all over again in a new country, he said.
He has been battling it out on his own in T&T. “I put the Man above first. That’s the Man taking charge. It’s He who walks me through day-by-day. I try not to fear. Sometimes, the biggest obstacle is fear,” he adds.
Mc Gregor Webb