Thursday, January 29, 2009
Where in the World is Perkins?
The latest issue of Perkins' Newsletter "Perkins Insight" highlighted some of their international work, including efforts by the KBT. Here's what it said:
The Kilimanjaro Blind Trust began with an incredible mission when 27
climbers -- eight of them blind -- set out to reach the
summit of Mt. Kiliminjaro.
Before and after the 7-day expedition, climbers visited schools in the
region and became inspired to develop a trust that would improve the
lives and opportunities of children who are blind in East Africa.
The Kiliminjaro Blind Trust supports programs operated by Perkins that
teach braille literacy, distribute and repair Perkins Braillers®, and
train teachers to work with students who are blind in Tanzania,
Uganda, and Kenya.
To date, nearly 600 Perkins Braillers® have been repaired, allowing
more children to learn to read and write independently.
Learn more on our website.
http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=_ZYeHyHicfXnn5Kuujt9mw ..
The Kilimanjaro Blind Trust began with an incredible mission when 27
climbers -- eight of them blind -- set out to reach the
summit of Mt. Kiliminjaro.
Before and after the 7-day expedition, climbers visited schools in the
region and became inspired to develop a trust that would improve the
lives and opportunities of children who are blind in East Africa.
The Kiliminjaro Blind Trust supports programs operated by Perkins that
teach braille literacy, distribute and repair Perkins Braillers®, and
train teachers to work with students who are blind in Tanzania,
Uganda, and Kenya.
To date, nearly 600 Perkins Braillers® have been repaired, allowing
more children to learn to read and write independently.
Learn more on our website.
http://support.perkins.org/
Labels: Perkins Alliance, Perkins Brailler, Press
Monday, January 19, 2009
Key Statistics on KBT's Efforts
As part of our preparations for 2009 we've been assembling some key statistics about how far your gift to the KBT can go. Here are a few to ponder:
* Last year alone over 100 Braille machines were either repaired or placed (economic value over $ 50,000) along with 12 people trained in Braille repair.
* In the U.S.A blind people with Braille skills have an 80 percent higher chance of finding employment.
* Currently over 6 million people are blind in Africa, the majority do not have access to Braille. In East Africa alone there are over 1,000 machines in need of repair and a minimum of 2,000 new machines needed to approach our goal in the region: that every blind child has access to a Braille machine.
* A contribution of $ 5,000 (or more) would allow training of 10 additional repair people, who would have the potential to repair a hundred plus Braille machines over a 6-month period while also creating employment opportunities. The repair program would be part of a bigger effort that is currently being worked out with the Ministry of education in Kenyan and the African Braille Centre in Nairobi focused on covering all main schools in the capital with access to basic braille repair services.
* Last year alone over 100 Braille machines were either repaired or placed (economic value over $ 50,000) along with 12 people trained in Braille repair.
* In the U.S.A blind people with Braille skills have an 80 percent higher chance of finding employment.
* Currently over 6 million people are blind in Africa, the majority do not have access to Braille. In East Africa alone there are over 1,000 machines in need of repair and a minimum of 2,000 new machines needed to approach our goal in the region: that every blind child has access to a Braille machine.
* A contribution of $ 5,000 (or more) would allow training of 10 additional repair people, who would have the potential to repair a hundred plus Braille machines over a 6-month period while also creating employment opportunities. The repair program would be part of a bigger effort that is currently being worked out with the Ministry of education in Kenyan and the African Braille Centre in Nairobi focused on covering all main schools in the capital with access to basic braille repair services.
Labels: Statistics
KBT's 2009 Project Plan
Based on what we have learned from our previous activities and discussions with several of our partners on the ground, KBT is proud to announce our proposed activities for 2009. In this year, we will address the following needs:
- Developing a spare parts depot for each country
- Providing funding to cover the salary for a full- or part-time repair position in each country
- Funding for transportation, which would cover either the costs of sending Braillers in need of repair to a central location or sending a repair technician to various sites for repair, or a combination of both
- Distribution of several new Perkins Braillers in each country
- A repair training session for Uganda, which is the country most in need of strengthening their repair skills
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
KBT and the new Perkins Brailler
Perkins recently released an updated version of the new Perkins Brailler. KBT has already provided funding to help distribute the new Braillers all over Africa...
Labels: Perkins Brailler
Friday, January 2, 2009
Celebrating 200 Years of Louis Braille
Here's a little historical note to celebrate Louis Braille's 200th birthday:
In 1809 Louis Braille was born in Coupvray near Paris. His father made harnesses. At the age of 3, Louis, while playing in the workshop, hurt his eye with one of the tools, and after infection set in, he became blind. As he was very smart, he went to school and just listened. He progressed very well and became a class leader. He became an accomplished musician as well as a school teacher.
Meanwhile a French army captain experimented with raised dots so his soldiers could communicate in the dark. He developed it further and introduced the system to the blind school where Louis studied. Louis experimented further with it, finally refining it at the age of 15 to a 6 dot system that is still used today in any language all over the world.
To write braille, Louis used a stylus and slate. Each dot is punched individually and actually has to be written backwards. Many children in developing countries, they still learn with the stylus and slate, but studies have proven that literacy develops more slowly.
A major breakthrough occurred when Perkins School for the Blind developed in 1951 a mechanical braillewriter which is considered by many to be the premiere braillewriter in the world. It is tough, reliable and indispensable. The new Next Generation Perkins Brailler which will be in production in 2010 is even better – “less force, less weight, less noise.”
Braille machines work in all countries in all languages with only six raised dots. Braille alphabets have been created in more than 140 languages. Braille can also be used for music and mathematic, all with only the six dots.
(For more information see the Perkins School for the Blind website.)
In 1809 Louis Braille was born in Coupvray near Paris. His father made harnesses. At the age of 3, Louis, while playing in the workshop, hurt his eye with one of the tools, and after infection set in, he became blind. As he was very smart, he went to school and just listened. He progressed very well and became a class leader. He became an accomplished musician as well as a school teacher.
Meanwhile a French army captain experimented with raised dots so his soldiers could communicate in the dark. He developed it further and introduced the system to the blind school where Louis studied. Louis experimented further with it, finally refining it at the age of 15 to a 6 dot system that is still used today in any language all over the world.
To write braille, Louis used a stylus and slate. Each dot is punched individually and actually has to be written backwards. Many children in developing countries, they still learn with the stylus and slate, but studies have proven that literacy develops more slowly.
A major breakthrough occurred when Perkins School for the Blind developed in 1951 a mechanical braillewriter which is considered by many to be the premiere braillewriter in the world. It is tough, reliable and indispensable. The new Next Generation Perkins Brailler which will be in production in 2010 is even better – “less force, less weight, less noise.”
Braille machines work in all countries in all languages with only six raised dots. Braille alphabets have been created in more than 140 languages. Braille can also be used for music and mathematic, all with only the six dots.
(For more information see the Perkins School for the Blind website.)
Labels: History
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