Braille in the highlands

Tuong Duong is one of six mountainous districts in the remote highlands of Nghe An province. Located 220 km west of Vinh City, the area has an underdeveloped economy, poor transportation infrastructure, with villages separated by tens of kilometers, some requiring travel by waterway, and a low standard of living for its people.

However, the People's Committee of Tuong Duong district allowed the establishment of the District Association of the Blind in 2006, not only providing office space, supporting regular operating expenses, and equipping the office with computers, desks, chairs, and filing cabinets, but also supporting the organization of Braille literacy classes.

Under the guidance of the Party, literacy has reached the people of the highlands in general and the blind in particular, contributing to the advancement of education, eradicating hunger and poverty, and gradually bridging the gap between mountainous and lowland areas. In 2008, the District People's Committee provided 17 million VND to the District Association to organize the first Braille class. The Provincial Association provided boards, writing implements, textbooks, and assigned the Vice Chairman of the Provincial Association to directly teach. The class had 10 members, and after 3 months, 70% achieved good or excellent results. In 2009, the District People's Committee continued to provide 19 million VND to the District Association to organize an advanced Braille class for 8 members of the Khmu, Thai, Mong, and Kinh ethnic groups. Although the class still faced many difficulties, and some students were not yet fluent in Vietnamese, everyone was eager and diligently touched each raised dot as if searching for a path in their lives.

The class included Già Bá Lỳ, a Hmong blind man from Kỳ Sơn district (Kỳ Sơn borders Laos). Previously, the Nghe An Labor Newspaper contacted the Provincial Association of the Blind to request that they facilitate Già Bá Lỳ's participation in a Braille literacy class at the Thái Hòa Town Association of the Blind. The light from Braille books ignited in the hearts of the blind people in the highlands a yearning, dreams, and hope. Everyone wanted to learn well and become proficient in Braille. The Provincial Association provided the Tương Dương Association of the Blind with funding to organize a three-month vocational training course in toothpick making and broom making for 15 members, creating jobs and additional income for the members. They also transferred funds from the Provincial Fatherland Front Committee's Fund for the Poor to support two members.

As a unique organization, and moreover, a newly established one located in a remote, mountainous area, the Tuong Duong Association of the Blind faces many difficulties. The Association hopes that all levels of government, sectors, businesses, and benevolent individuals will extend their compassionate support in all aspects, creating favorable conditions for the Association to operate and improve the material and spiritual lives of the blind!

Nguyen Minh Duc