Flight of blind, for the blind RASHEED KIDWAI
Hilton-Barber talks to newsmen after his arrival at Raja Bhoj airport in Bhopal on Tuesday. (PTI) Bhopal, March 27: Blind as a bat, is how he jokingly describes himself, but Miles Hilton-Barber can sure land a plane better than many with 20/20 vision. The visually-impaired 58-year-old pilot made a perfect landing in Bhopal today, flying a microlight aircraft. His mission: to glide from London to Sydney to raise £1 million that would help restore sight to the visually impaired in the developing world. His dream is supported by Standard Chartered Bank's Seeing Is Believing programme, which aims to gift sight to 10 million people by raising $10 million by World Sight Day 2010. "The money will be distributed to the needy by WHO and 13 other NGOs," Hilton-Barber said, minutes after touchdown at Raja Bhoj airport this afternoon. Bhopal is one of the many stops in the long flight plan of this South African-turned-British national. The tall adventurer took off on March 7 from London. He flew over Cyprus, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Pakistan to reach Bhopal. From here, he will glide to Mumbai and then to Calcutta before flying to Myanmar and Malaysia. Giving him cockpit company is a sighted pilot, Richard Meredith-Hardy. According to international law, a sighted co-pilot has to accompany him and take over the controls in rough landings and emergencies. Hilton-Barber was inspired by his visually impaired brother who sailed from South Africa to Australia solo. Like his brother, he lost his sight at the age of 25 due to a genetic disorder. "As a kid, I joined the Rhodesian air force, but they kicked me out because they said my sight wasn't good enough. Now, 38 years later and blind as a bat, I have this wonderful opportunity," Hilton-Barber said. And flying is not Hilton-Barber's only adventure. He has scaled the Himalayas, the Kilimanjaro and Mont Blanc. He has also scuba-dived 12 miles under the Red Sea, hot-air ballooned over the Nevada Desert, hauled a sledge over 400 km across Antarctica, set the world lap record for a blind driver on the Malaysian Grand Prix Circuit and circumnavigated the entire world, using over 80 different forms of transport. The father of three is modest about his achievements. "For me, the big achievement is not that of a blind man flying halfway around the world, but a blind man giving the gift of sight to thousands of children and adults around the world who can't see just because of lack of money." To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
