Egyptians with visual impairments can now swim for free

On Al Mandara beach in Alexandria, people with visual impairments can enjoy swimming for free, as Egypt allocated this beach for these people of determination.

The beach was opened for the visually impaired this year, one year after its inauguration for people with physical disabilities, Major General Gamal Rashad, Head of the Central Administration for Tourism and Resorts in Alexandria, told the Al Youm talk show on the DMC channel on July 1.

The beach is equipped with lines of cork to guide those people while they are enjoying their time in the water, he stated in previous comments to local media.

“The experience was very enjoyable for the blind and visually impaired, as we found great interaction and great happiness with the idea,” he added.

Coincidently, Egypt’s House of Representatives on Monday approved, in principle, proposals regulating the Fund for Supporting Citizens with Different Capabilities, Ahram Online reported.

Egyptians with disabilities represent 10.5 percent of about 96.44 million people as of the end of 2017, said the state-owned Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).

The number of people with disabilities reached 8.636 million people, including 6.608 million people with mild difficulty, 1.636 million people with great difficulty, and 390,900 people who have absolute difficulty.