Brunei Celebrates World Braille Day
By Izam S Ya'akub

Bandar Seri Begawan - In an effort to help the blind community in Brunei, the Special Education Unit in tandem with Standard Chartered Bank and GIST Integrated Facilities Management Services will mark World Braille Day on January 8.

Among its objectives are to raise public awareness on the use of Braille for visually impaired individuals and students in Brunei Daiussalam.

A press release stated that the event will be held this Saturday at the ground and first floor of Wisma Hj Mohd Taha building in Gadong. The public is invited to join the celebration which will be held from 9am to 5pm.

There will be many fun and educational activities such as typing and translating in Braille competitions not only for the visually challenged students, but also for the general public to enjoy.

The event aims to provide relevant information and expose the public, particularly the visually impaired, to the importance of learning Braille as an effective means of communication, which will help them be more independent in their everyday life.

World Braille Day is marked on January 4 and commemorates Louis Braille, who almost 200 years ago revolutionised the lives of the visually impaired with his invention of a simple system of six raised dots, which enabled the development of a learning system for the blind to read and write independently.

Used in various combinations, the six "magic" dots can be used to form letters of the alphabet, musical notations, chemistry symbols, numbers and punctuation.

A special form of a typewriter called the 'Brailler' is used to emboss these raised dots on paper through which the blind would read using the tip of their forgers.

World Braille Day was first celebrated on January 4, 2001. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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