On Sunday night at Lawry's The Prime Rib at Mandarin Gallery, Orchard, a man and a woman clad in black polo shirts served bread rolls to guests; a 12-year-old girl played a piece on the piano.

It would not have been remarkable, except for the fact that the trio are visually handicapped. The occasion was a charity dinner and the trio attended along with the likes of Dr Yeo Sze Ling, a researcher at A*Star who shared her experiences in using assistive technologies such as software that reads out text to overcome her visual disability.

About 90 guests, including Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing, turned up for the dinner, which raised about $30,000 for the Singapore Association for the Visually Handicapped (SAVH).

Minister Chan said with such technologies and the help of society, the blind could lead empowered lives. He also urged society to be more accepting of those with disabilities.

At the dinner held by Clearvision Eye Clinic and Lasik Centre and Vinci Arts Gallery, two paintings from a Ukranian artist Oleg Lazarenko were auctioned for a total of $24,000 and presented to the winning bidders by Ukrainian Ambassador Pavlo Sultansky. Part of the proceeds will go the artist, while some will go to SAVH, organisers said.

Mr Marcus Woo, a guest at the event, said: "The dinner presented the blind in an empowered way. I saw them as not so much handicapped, but stars with overcame the odds."