New Braille Technologies Help Deaf, Blind Students Gain Literacy

Illiteracy in Kurdistan slowly is being stamped out. Computer science and internet usage also are improving, even in rural areas, according to international measures.

Unfortunately, deaf and blind people – an often forgotten segment of society – have not shared equally in these gains, largely because of a lack of appropriate infrastructure and technology.

In the community of Darbandikhan, home to 910 deaf and blind citizens, the USAID-funded Iraq Consultative Service Delivery Program (CSDP), created a local institute to teach people how to read and write using Braille.

Community members conceived and prioritized the project as part of the CSDP community development process. The local government provided a building and bus for the institute, and CSDP, with support of the Kurdistan Regional Government, provided nearly $100,000 in equipment: eight Braille-keyboard computers, four printers which can print Braille paper, specialized headphones and language dictionaries.

The three staff for the institute also attended a two-month training in Sulaymaniyah on deaf teaching techniques, including how to use and teach on Braille computers.

As soon as the instructors received their government-issued licenses – December 2010 – the new institute, called Supply of Disabled Training Institute in Khelan, opened its doors.

Now each semester, 16 blind and/or deaf students will attend the institute to learn how to read.

"I am very happy at the institute," says Akram Tofiq, one of the blind students. "I can learn to use computers and read.

“Before, [literacy] was just a dream to me. Now it is coming true."

Pictured at left: A blind student receives training on a Braille-enabled computer and keyboard.