From the time we included NAB Santa Cruz in our Mobile Outreach Project scope, we have been thinking, worrying and wondering how we will get tactile/braille books.
3 -4 of the children in group are severely visually impaired and read braille. So this became important. We checked for resources within the country and none really exist for beginner readers/ picture book genre which is Bookworm’s forte.
We looked online and realised we could not afford any of the resources. Niju, our internet mole, began a search and found Clear Vision, a library in the UK for visually impaired people. Imagine that!
We wrote them and shared our work and the new project we were undertaking and heard that they were a Library ( quite like us!).
Niju persevered quietly and stealthily and we continued to work with what we had at the Library, enjoying the sessions with the children confident that tactile books for now will do the work.
A surprise awaited us in the mail, Marion from Clear Vision Children’s Braille Library mailed us 2 boxes of Braille books and we all fell upon them, touched, felt and imagined what the children at the center would do.
Venecia, Sumaira,Venkatesh looked so happy when we shared the Braille books with them. They now read the books during the quiet time and there is even more gladness.
The NSS volunteer group at the Goa College of Home Science, have a gifted teacher Elizabeth who is also working on Braille story aids and the circle of magic continues.
Thank you Clear Vision!
Congratulations to the Bookworm team. I am sure these will make a big difference at NAB.
Natasha