Blind and visually impaired visitors to the Ramat Gan Safari can enjoy a more accessible experience, thanks to the Right Hear application.

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In addition to supplying zoological information about the species at the safari, as well as unique stories about the specific animals housed in its 64 enclosures, the Right Hear system helps the blind and visually impaired navigate the park.

One such visitor, Hezi Eliyahu, said, "This brings me full circle. For years, while I was still a young father, I had to look for friends, acquaintances, or family members who would come with me on visits to the safari. This week, I experienced a correction – I walked along the paths independently, knowing exactly which enclosure I was next to and what direction I needed to go in, without needing directions from anyone.

"All the instructions and information surrounded me through the smartphone's speaker. The accessibility includes information about the animals, so a blind person can definitely describe them to their kids and share with them," he said.

"The fact that now I can walk around the safari alone or with my family, and even lead them, and not forgo a family outing, is a really moving, joyous moment for me," Eliyahu added.

Ramat Gan Mayor Carmel Shama Hacohen said that the safari's new system was the city's way of "making the safari accessible to people who in the past probably avoided visiting for fear they couldn't enjoy it like everyone else."

Now, Hacohen said, "Blind and visually impaired visitors can feel like they're part of the atmosphere … No less important is the message to the hundreds of thousands of children who visit the safari each year, who will be exposed to our municipal sensitivity to accessibility for everyone and people with special needs in particular."

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Yiflah spent 10 days at the camp last September in Huntsville, Alabama along with other teens with visual impairments from all over the world were invited to the camp. The other Israeli camper was Netta Kadosh, 17, from Mitzpe Adi.

"In the beginning, it was very nerve-racking," Noa said, "I am not a very sociable person and I was worried that I wouldn't have anyone to spend an entire week with, but in the group, you start to talk to people and get along quickly. Everyone was amazing."

She described some of the activities at the camp, including "a simulation of hovering at zero gravity and wall climbing where some kids hold the rope from the top while we descend by zip line." She also "tried out a 4G-gravity simulator... and also tried out a spacewalk in a space suit."

"I didn't want leave," Noa said, "the camp improved my self-esteem."

She made the difficult trip with the help of her teacher Anat Habusha. Habusha referred Noa to Ofek Liyladenu: The Israel National Association of Parents of Children with Blindness and Visual Impairments, an organization for children with sight disabilities, which later chose both girls to attend the trip.

Neta shared her NASA experience saying that "the highlight was the tasks we were assigned to complete. We experienced a simulated walk in space, some dived to a depth of 7 meters (23 feet) in order to feel the pressure and sense of hovering in space, just like the astronauts do. We also climbed a wall that was 8 meters (26 feet) high and jumped off of it. All of the tasks replicate those given to astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Even though you are visually impaired, you aren't exempt from any of the tasks."

Neta particularly enjoyed the control room. "The tasks there were funny and brought everyone together. I think what will stay with me forever is the understanding that I don't face my disabilities alone, there are tons of young people like me who face difficulties every day." Kemi Matas joined the girls on their trip, herself the mother of a child with sight disabilities.

Neta elaborated "I learned that despite my disability, nothing can stand in my way.  The tasks were done a bit awkwardly and slowly, but I did not give up and finished them all."

She is currently a high school student in the biology-science track. "I want to volunteer in the Israel Defense Forces and aim to reach high. In the future, I'd like to major in biology in university, and hope that people who I will meet during my life will understand that despite my disability, I am just like them," she said.

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