In 2020, the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) introduced the Caribbean Video Assistance Service (CVAS), an initiative to help people who are Deaf or Blind. Completely free to use, CVAS enhanced the quality of the lives of citizens Trinidad and Tobago and beyond.
The first of its kind in the Caribbean, CVAS allowed Deaf users to use the app to connect to and sign to an agent (who is a sign language interpreter), who relays what the user says to the hearing person the user wishes to speak with and vice-versa.
CVAS agents also helped Blind persons identify currency, read labels on bottles, read documents, read monitors on your computer, laptop or tablets and much, much more.
Despite our best efforts, with regrets, the CTU Secretariat has been unable to secure the necessary funding to continue CVAS’ operations. As a result, CVAS will be closing its operations on 31st December 2023.
The decision to close CVAS was not easy. Unfortunately, the current low level of usage of CVAS could not justify the cost of running it.
To each of you who has found support and connection through CVAS, we want to say thank you. CVAS would not have been possible without you.
For more information, please contact Trevor Prevatt on + 1 (868) 685-7813 or Ms. Niobe Rodrigues on +1 (868) 481-6546.
