First Braille Library Opens in Guwahati With 200 Books
Guwahati,
Jan. 4: Assam got its
first braille library for the visually impaired on the Guwahati Blind High
School campus here today.
January
4 is marked as World Braille Day to commemorate the birth anniversary of Louis
Braille, the inventor of the braille code.
The
library, set up by Amway Opportunity Foundation (AOF)'s corporate social
responsibility wing in partnership with the school, will offer braille versions
of books and journals to around 100 visually impaired students and former
students of the school.
"We
started off with around 200 books, including a few educational magazines and
all the text books of courses. Our aim is to have at least 500 books by the end
of this year," Bhaben Burman, principal of the school, told The
Telegraph during the inauguration of the library.
Kamrup
(metro) deputy commissioner M. Angamuthu inaugurated the facility.
"AOF
has also provided us with a librarian and has promised to give Rs 6,000 every
month to run it. Now the students can enhance their knowledge," Burman
said. The school has a campus of 20 bighas and 75 students.
G.S.
Cheema, senior vice-president (north and east) of Amway India, said the company
aims to open 31 braille libraries in India over the next few months. "At
least four of these will be in the Northeast. We will be setting up one at
Bethani Society in Shillong while we are trying to partner with other NGOs to
establish one in Mizoram and another in Tripura," Cheema said.
Angamuthu
said, "The government is doing everything to bring the less advantaged
people of the state to the front but corporate houses and social organisations
should also aid in it."
According
to a 2008 health ministry's report, Assam, with 15.6 lakh (four per cent of the
population) visually impaired people, has the highest number of
sight-disadvantaged persons in India.
Regards
Pralhad
Jadhav
Senior
Manager @ Library
Khaitan & Co
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