braille-enabled cards

there is a popular advertising legend that talks about a blind beggar who would everyday sit at a corner of a street with a slate that read ‘i am blind.’ one fine morning, an ad guy passed him by and offered to add a few words to the slate to effect more donations. the blind man agreed and the slate read, ‘it’s spring and i am blind.’ just two words and donations poured in like never before.
while this, to me, is the shortest, most effective example to prove the power of advertising, it also goes to show how much blindness is, as an issue closest to our hearts.
think about it. while the thought of being blind is totally unacceptable, it is the easiest to relate to. shut your eyes and try moving about familiar places to get a feel. haven’t you done it already? hasn’t it scared you already?

years ago, i visited NAB here in bombay with a mind to do something for them. life, as it is wont to, came in the way and i didn’t so much as begin doing things i could have. not that i am anywhere closer even today. and it hurts! especially when i keep spotting the blind here in bombay. vulnerable and very child like, moving about the city with extreme caution. making sure they don’t slip and trip and fall and lose more than they ever had. some of them work, quite ironically selling books... drawing books, colouring books, recipe books and the like. or railway pass covers, little toys, naphthalene balls, toilet freshners, safety pins and what not. others beg. how much they make is anyone’s guess.

what amuses me the most is why is that there are so many blind among the poor. or so it seems. i couldn’t get hold of any statistics but instinct says that just might be true. i have yet to come across a blind who is not in rags, has more than a diminutive frame, gets his way and commands an equal place in society.

now, that is an utopian thought, but an attempt to achieve is well in order. a small little way was found by nidhi kaila. nidhi is an IIM grad who started esha. a non-profit org that works to make the blind self-reliant, while sensitizing individuals and corporations towards the blind.
the idea is simple. get orders to braille-enable visiting cards of execs of corporations for a rupee per card. in simpler terms, it is nothing but putting the person’s name in braille. the brailling is done by the blind and the money goes to them. for the exec, it’s more value. his card becomes a thing to flaunt, over and above the written content in it. knowledge that he is sensitive towards the blind therefore a nice human being becomes common and known across the board. and most importantly, it provides a sustainable means of livelihood for the blind.

when i met nidhi through a common friend who also works for esha, and learnt to type in braille, i remained fascinated with the entire language. when amit – the common friend, showed me his braille-enabled card for the first time, i read more than what was written in it.

till date, esha has managed to rope in several multinationals to get their cards braille-enabled but there is need for more. a lot more. for anyone who’s interested in:
getting their cards Braille-enabled for as little as 1 rupee per card or volunteering for the blind, log into http://eshabraille.wordpress.com/about/ or write in to nidhi at esha_braille@yahoo.com.

for more
http://www.outlookindia.com/mad.asp?sid=1&fodname=20060529&fname=making
http://zigzackly.blogspot.com/2006/11/braille-enabled-visiting-cards.html
http://jace.livejournal.com/434670.html
http://jace.seacrow.com/archive/2006/11/12/braille-embossed-card