Angel Eyes NI (www.angeleyesni.org), is a Belfast-based charity that supports and advocates for blind and partially sighted children throughout Northern Ireland. The charity has identified a need for parents, professionals, and all those coming into contact with someone with a visual impairment to better understand the implications of living with a range of eye conditions and how this can impact the world they live in.
Founded in 2007, Angel Eyes NI has grown rapidly to meet the needs of the community of blind and partially sighted children, their families, and the professionals supporting them. Sara McCracken is mum to three children, including twins with a rare genetic condition, who were registered severely sight impaired when they were 6 months old. Feeling ill equipped to make the necessary decisions for her twins, and desperately needing support, information, and advice, she set up the charity in April 2007 to ensure other families did not face her situation.
As leader of Angel Eyes NI, Sara is passionate about harnessing technology and Social Innovation to make a positive impact and create a society that can adapt to the needs of children with visual impairment (VI). Sara believes that new and developing technologies can positively impact individuals, communities, and society as a whole. Having developed the VR app technology specifically for children, Sara has recognised that it is also applicable to sight impairment in adults as well. Thus, immersive technology can improve the emotional wellbeing not only of children but also older people through developing empathy and understanding for their condition, the implementation of effective and targeted support services, increasing employability, and through raising awareness of sight loss throughout the community.
