Hyderabad: World Braille Day, observed every year on January 4, also happens to be Louis Braille's birthday. He was born on January 4, 1809. This is a day to honour his life and the revolutionary influence that the Braille system has had on the lives of the blind. Adopted in 2006, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has improved the rights and welfare of individuals with disabilities.
According to the Convention, braille is necessary for social inclusion, education, and the freedom of speech and opinion. In addition to promising that no one would be left behind in the pursuit of ensuring that every human being can lead a rich and satisfying life, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted in 2015. The General Assembly recognised that an inclusive written promotion is necessary for the full realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and in November 2018 (Resolution A/RES/73/161), they resolved to declare January 4 as World Braille Day.
What is Braille? Using six dots to represent each letter and number as well as mathematical, scientific, and musical symbols, braille is a tactile representation of alphabetic and numeric symbols. People who are blind or partially sighted can read books and magazines printed in a visual typeface by using Braille, which has the name of its inventor, Louis Braille, who lived in France in the 19th century. As stated in article 2 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, braille is crucial for social inclusion, education, and freedom of speech and opinion.
Significance Braille in everyday life- The day's goal is to increase awareness of the braille language, which aims to close the communication gap between people with normal abilities and those with disabilities. A braille reader can move freely throughout the community because braille is becoming more and more prevalent. Since the 2008 implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, more than 150 nations have ratified the agreement.
When a person is blind or visually handicapped, braille is utilised in daily communication, granting them independence. Without the ability to read braille, how will a blind person navigate society on their own? Braille gives blind people the opportunity to be treated equally, something they deserve. A blind person is totally dependent on computers equipped with voice synthesisers or audio recording in order to read without braille, although none of these is helpful in every situation. (CNIB) Braille helps the blind and visually handicapped see.
The Story of Louis Braille: Inventor of the Braille Code- The braille code was created by Louis Braille. On January 4, 1809, he was born in Coupvray, France. When Louis was three years old, he cut his eye on a sharp object while playing in his father's shop. He received the greatest care possible at the time, but an infection soon developed and spread to the other eye, rendering him totally blind. When Braille was just 16 years old in 1825, he was a student at the National Institute for Blind Youth in Paris. He spent every free time outside of class puncturing holes in paper in an attempt to figure out a better way to accurately represent print letters and numbers.
After witnessing Charles Barbier, a retired artillery officer in Napoleon's army, demonstrate a note-taking system he invented using embossed dots to represent sounds (most of the soldiers were illiterate), Louis became inspired to use embossed dots to represent letters. This allowed notes to be passed among the ranks without striking a light, which might alert the enemy to their position. Barbier brought his system to the school for the blind when the army showed little interest in it. Louis spent the following three years refining Barbier's concept after realising its potential right away. By 1824, Louis had implemented the code that bears his name and is still in use today in nearly every nation on Earth, having been translated from Albanian into nearly every language known. He died on January 6, 1852 at the age of 43.
The Need for Braille Education in India for the Visually Impaired Blindness in India-There are more than 15 million blind persons in India, and according to 2007 figures, there are up to 37 million blind people worldwide. This is the biggest number of blind people in any country, having doubled since 2007. But compared to the general literacy rate of 77.7%, the braille literacy rate is barely 1% there. This poses a serious issue because the quality of life for those who are blind or visually impaired is greatly reduced in the absence of braille education. People who are blind and lack braille literacy frequently struggle to comprehend and utilise written communication. They thus need an interpreter to read and write for them, which may reduce their employment opportunities.
Blindness and Poverty- The worst consequences of blindness disproportionately affect those who are poor.According to the Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study, the rate of blindness is nine times higher in the lowest socioeconomic group than in the highest socioeconomic group. Because healthcare is expensive and difficult to get, they only have limited access to it. Like many other disabilities, blindness causes unemployment, which feeds the poverty cycle and leaves the visually handicapped with low standards of living and a loss of income. This eventually causes blind people to die young.
How Braille Education Helps? People who are blind or visually impaired can become more independent, employable, and literate through braille instruction. They are literate enough to read and write without the need for an interpreter. Braille literacy can mean the difference between a person being passed over for a job that supports them or being able to obtain one in rural India, where assistive technology such as text-to-speech devices or screen readers is not as popular.
Children who receive braille education have the opportunity to receive an education of the same caliber and quantity as their sighted counterparts, which opens chances for them to advance economically. Thinkerbell Labs is an e-learning provider for people with vision impairments that aims to raise the global rate of braille literacy. In order to assist kids in learning to read and write in braille independently, it developed Annie, the first braille literacy tool in history.
The Future of Braille Education- There is much more to be done to educate the 15 million blind people in India in braille. Although the scope of these two projects pales in comparison to the nation's overall needs, they represent a positive beginning toward the objective of providing every blind person with the braille education necessary for success.
