Through ‘tactile sensations’, Omaha nonprofit teaches pottery to visually impaired Nebraskans

Because the pottery class begins, a gaggle of six individuals of various ages attend to their crafts.

Scholar Rachael Hellwig mentioned she misplaced her imaginative and prescient later in life. Earlier than discovering Enrichment, she described herself as being unhappy and lonely.

“Coming right here has been the life persevere that I wanted,” mentioned Hellwinger. “Being round those who perceive what you’re going by way of and so they’ve been by way of related issues, they’ll empathize.”

One other pupil, Mike Sloan, has nystagmus, a situation the place your eyes make repetitive and uncontrolled actions. With Witt’s assist, he shapes clay on a small, electrical pottery wheel – cracking a joke each once in a while. He mentioned as a visually impaired man, pottery appeals to him.

“You may contact it, you may mould it, you may play with it, and you may’t make a mistake,” Sloan mentioned. “And for those who do, you squish it, and begin throughout.”

The youngest particular person within the group is 7-year-old Rueben McCombs, who attended the category along with his dad, Cameron.

Cameron mentioned they used to stay in rural Texas the place they needed to drive as much as 4 hours to attend occasions. The household moved near Omaha to present his son entry to a help construction.