Miami Dolphins Give Locals Living With Blindness A Special Holiday Gift
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The Miami Dolphins are helping to make the holiday's life-changing for some South Floridians living with blindness.
A unique partnership has made it all possible.
Four people who are blind or visually impaired have help reading and recognizing faces.
The Miami Dolphins' Football Unites program, the Israeli Consulate in Miami, and Miami Lighthouse for the Blind partnered to give out the early holiday gifts.
Sebastian Torres has been adjusting to a loss of his vision over the last three years because of complications from diabetes.
"It has definitely been, you know, it's not easy. It has been a little bit of a struggle," Torres said.
Monday, Torres and three others were given OrCam Technologies devices.
It's a small device about the size of a finger. It attaches to glasses.
The camera follows the gaze of the person. It then reads for the person any text that's in front, within sight. It can speak in 15 languages.
The small device carries a $4,500 price tag. There are slightly cheaper versions.
The students at the Miami Lighthouse didn't need a dime because of the help of several groups.
"Now, I'm able to not be so dependent on other people," Marnel Jean said.
Miami Lighthouse said there is a student who recently graduated with a MBA from Duke University with the help of OrCam Technologies.
Other students hope they can accomplish their dreams because to the high tech device.
"Wow, this is awesome. This is really cool," Diandre Incera said.
Miami Dolphins Safety TJ McDonald was on hand Monday afternoon to help present the gifts to each student.
He saw many similarities among the students and himself.
"A lot of them have the same interests that I had growing up. So, it definitely makes me feel good to be able to be here," McDonald said.
McDonald said he was also surprised by the technology and proud a company was able to create this type of device.
"Excited for what the future holds for them," McDonald said.
That future is brighter with the help of the high tech reader.
"With this, I can definitely be able to pick up at hand and be able to read at hand something there," Torres said.