World Braille Day 2015
©CBM
On 4th January 2015, we join our partner organisations to celebrate the World Braille Day 2015, in honor of Louis Braille, the inventor of braille.
It is complicated for people who are blind to get the information they need from their relatives, the media, the institutions or from school. This is why it is important to allow those who have lost their sight to learn Braille. It is equally crucial to have books or leaflets printed in Braille.
The World Blind Union says: "This World Braille Day, we encourage everyone to contact their government to let them know the Right to Read is an important human right for all people."
What is Braille?
Braille is a code used by blind people by which all languages may be written and read. It is read by passing the fingers over characters made up of an arrangement of one to six embossed points. It was created by Louis Braille who was born on 4 January 1809.
Meet Hiwot
Hiwot was 15 years old when we met her back in 2009. She lived in Ethiopia and has been blind since her childhood. When she was young, she used to listen to radio in order to get informed. She then found out about a school who could provide Braille teaching and it opened new doors for her. Hiwot said that it was not complicated for her to learn, read and write in Braille. She was even one of the best students of her class.
There are still lots of children and students like Hiwot who did not have the chance to access education due to the lack of Braille teachers or tools. At CBM, we strongly believe that everyone should get access to information and we reaffirm our commitment on this World Braille Day 2015 to build the capacity of many programmes in developing countries that use Braille.