Internet not unattainable for the visually impaired

FOR many urban youngsters who have grown up in the IT era, the Internet and computers may have been part of their lives for many years.

But at this very moment, in a little building next to a busy road in Penang, a group of youths may be laying their hands on a keyboard for the first time in their lives.

At the St Nicholas Home For The Visually Impaired, being blind is not an impediment to being IT literate.

The home has been caring for the blind as well as the visually impaired since 1926, providing them with residential care, education, training and rehabilitation.

Under Project Samsung Eyes, a modern information and communications technology (ICT) centre has been established at the home with a RM190,000 grant from Samsung Malaysia Electronics’ two-year-old DigitAll Hope social programme.

The nationwide Samsung DigitAll Hope programme has helped welfare organisations and communities to implement technology-driven projects for underprivileged youth communities.
The new centre, launched on Aug 18, is equipped with 13 state-of-the-art Internet-connected computers installed with Braille software and screen reading programs such as Windows Eyes, JAWS Professional, MAGic Professional and other applications designed for the needs of the visually-impaired.

Hearing what they can't seeA screen reader program can “speak out” words, instructions and functions to the visually impaired user.

Although 13 computers are speaking at the same time in the room, the users have no problems focusing on their own computers.

With training lasting a month, the visually impaired can perform simple word processing, surf the Web, send e-mails and listen to streaming Web audio.

The new facility has so far trained around 70 blind and visually impaired youths at the secondary school and university level (aged 16 to 25) and is expected to benefit about 100 youths every year.
“Previously, we had only two computers and therefore the number of people we could train was limited,” said Regina Leelawathi, the chief IT trainer of the centre.

“Before the new centre was opened, we have already trained over 400 blind and visually impaired people, teachers and personnel working with the blind over the past 10 years,” she added.

According to Ooi Chee Khoon, executive director of St Nicholas Home for the Visually Impaired, the home has plans to expand the availability of the training classes.

“We are planning to offer afternoon, morning and weekend classes. Also, we hope to offer more comprehensive courses lasting three to six months.

“In the future, we hope to be recognised as a qualified IT trainer, comparable to the IT colleges for normal students,” said Ooi.

Further enhancementsOoi also hopes to upgrade the software applications and equipment at the centre with funds from Samsung’s DigitAll Hope grant, such as purchasing special notebooks for the blind and scanners with optical character recognition (OCR) software.

“With scanners and OCR, the students can scan their own documents such as their own letters into text. Using Braille software, the text can be converted into Braille format and then printed out,” he explained.

Computer technology is also being employed at the home’s Braille Production Centre that produces books in Braille formats for its library.

Previously, books could be typed in Braille using a Braille typewriter, but the disadvantage was that text could only be printed on one side of the paper.

Using a software called Duxbury Braille Translator which works like a word processor that can translate words into Braille text. The Braille text is printed using a RM25,000 Braille printer, which can print on both sides of the paper, thus saving space and paper.

Another advantage of is that copies of the same book can be reproduced easily.

Among the other technologies that St Nicholas Home plans to improve is the “talking newspaper” – a newspaper for the visually impaired that “reads” to them the daily news and “talking books” that act like a storyteller.

DigitAll hope 2005Applications are now open for the Samsung DigitAll Hope 2005 programme, with the new theme “Imagine a Brighter Tomorrow Today.”

Charities, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and educational institutions are invited to apply for monetary or product grants to help support ongoing projects or for the founding of new projects that improve the lives of youth through the use of technology.