After decades of advocacy, the Trinidad and Tobago Blind Welfare Association (­TTBWA) is celebrating a historic moment with the appointment of the country’s first visually ­impaired senator.

President Christine Kangaloo appointed Alicia Pauline Lalite-Ettienne as an independent senator and she was sworn in yesterday, making history as the first visually impaired person to take the oath of office in the Senate.

In a telephone interview yesterday, ­TTBWA executive officer Kenneth Suratt told the Express the organisation has long advocated for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in key national positions, particularly those who are visually impaired.