Lalitpur, February 22

Save the Children today launched 23 different titles of pictorial Braille fact books in an event organised at Namuna Machhindra Secondary School.

The titles, which are based on factual accounts of people, places, animals, things and events are targeted at visually impaired children from grades I to V.

Two students from the school, seventh grader Shristi Subedi and ninth grade Lucky Maharjan, read out aloud from two fact books to launch the compilation.

Speaking at the programme, Delailah Borja, country director of Save the Children, said, “This is our attempt to ensure that visually impaired children have a chance to expand their knowledge and enjoyment by reading books outside their curriculum.

As children with disabilities are deprived of many services, including education, we must ensure that they receive all such services and provide them an opportunity to read for pleasure.”

The 23 titles were selected from the 80 fact books that were produced with the support of the US Based Bezos Family Foundation.

Altogether 2,300 copies of fact books have been published in Braille in the first phase, and will be disseminated throughout the country in all 97 resource classes in collaboration with Department of Education and Curriculum Development Centres.

Narad Prasad Dhamala, Representative of the Inclusive Education Section under the DoE, appreciated the venture of producing books for visually impaired children.

He said, “I hope that these books reach every single visually impaired child.”

The National Population and Housing Census 2011 estimated a total of 513,321 persons with disability in Nepal, 18.5 per cent of whom have visual impairment.