Navleen's Sightline Story

Navleen’s
Sightline Story

I heard about the Sightline volunteering role through the RNIB as I was accessing support for my own eye condition; Diabetic Retinopathy.

Being sight impaired myself, I wanted to give
some time to help some else in a similar position to me.

The truth is it really is a small amount of my time each week and it’s an important part of my weekly plans now. I have been matched with two befriendees who are very different people; I like this as at it provides very different talking points each week.

One lady wanted to speak with someone in her first language which is Punjabi. It gives my befriendee conversation and a connection with the outside world; I know she feels at ease when we speak and I can offer her advice and my experience living with sight loss.

The befriending calls are important to me as they give me a sense of routine and I benefit from having them as I like to chit chat!

The older lady I speak very much enjoys general conversation about lots of different subjects and she enjoys the light-heartedness of our calls; we don’t tend to talk about our eye conditions that much.

The befriending calls are important to me as they give me a sense of routine and I benefit from having them as I like to chit chat!

It’s really rewarding to know that I am having an impact on someone’s life in a positive way. Yes, everyone’s sight loss journey is different but we’re on common ground and I know these calls benefit everyone involved just through having these conversations.