NI chosen for new RNIB ad

Three Northern Ireland people are presenting an inspirational TV advertisement for the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB ).

The advertisement was filmed entirely in Northern Ireland and will be broadcast across the UK between 11-22 August 2003. Viewers in Northern Ireland will be able to see it on Channel 4 and the ITV news.

The ad emphasises some universal messages about sight loss and appeals for public support for the RNIB and its fundraising programme.

The commercial opens with Claire Gallagher, who lost her sight in the Omagh Bomb and now studies music at Queen’s University Belfast. It also features five year old Megan Ballentine from Belfast who was born without eyes – a rare condition known as Anophthalmia – and Enniskillen’s William Jackson, a 93 year old who has been losing his sight gradually over 20 years and is an RNIB Talking Book Service member.

All have been supported by RNIB Northern Ireland to overcome the impact of sight problems. The campaign shows that people who experience sight loss do live rewarding lives – if the right forms of support are available at the right time.

Sight loss is one of the main causes of disability in the UK and Ireland. The RNIB estimates that every day another 100 people start to lose their sight. For some, sight loss can come suddenly and totally, but most people’s experience of sight loss is gradual and partial.

The charity’s work, in Northern Ireland and across the UK, depends heavily on the support of the general public and the inspirational messages from Claire, Megan and William will show a national audience how RNIB helps people with sight loss to lead normal lives.

RNIB supports anyone with a sight problem – not only those who are blind. Contact RNIB NI in Belfast 028 9032 9373 or Derry/Londonderry 028 7137 4619.