1.  Visually impaired musicians to perform in prisons, schools 
     Focus Taiwan
     May 5, 2011   

2.  Books open for visually impaired 
     Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
     May 2, 2011

3.  Blindness strikes chord with charity
     Nelson Mail
     May 5, 2011 

4.  Braille-iant’ idea, Globe for the visually-impaired 
     Daily News & Analysis
     May 3, 2011  

5.  Paralymics gives visually impaired kids chance to compete
     HeraldNet 
     May 3, 2011



1.  Visually impaired musicians to perform in prisons, schools

Taipei, May 5 (CNA) A group of visually impaired musicians will embark Friday on a three-month performance tour of prisons and rural schools across Taiwan to bring a message about overcoming adversity.

Led by pastor David Lin, four musicians from the Rainbow Missions Arts Society in Taiwan, will give 50 concerts at 19 prisons and 31 schools that were affected by Typhoon Morakot in 2009.

From May 6 to the middle of August, they will perform folk songs from Taiwan and China, as well as classical music.

The tour was made possible by the Council for Cultural Affairs, as part of the country's centennial celebrations.

Lin, who lost his sight at a young age due to a fever, told reporters Thursday that physically and emotionally challenged people have benefited from the government's policies and the support of the public, and the concerts are a way of giving back to the society.

"No one can be sure what will happen tomorrow," he said. "But one thing is for sure -- we will live better if we care about each other."

It takes great courage and effort for a visually impaired person to stand on stage and sing with confidence, he said.

Lin, a member of the Amis aboriginal tribe in Hualien, said he hopes that prisoners will take heart from the music and will avoid getting into trouble when they are released.

Rainbow Missions was established by a group of Chinese Christians in the U.S. in 2005 with the aim of helping disadvantaged individuals in China. The Taiwan chapter was launched by Lin this January. The Taiwanese musicians are scheduled to stage concerts in China later this month.

http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNews_Detail.aspx?Type=aALL&ID=201105050029


2.  Books open for visually impaired

Zaynee Malik wants people who are visually impaired to hear another good book.

So the Shadyside girl has donated time each week for the past four months reading aloud as part of a new partnership between The Ellis School in Shadyside and the Carnegie Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. Students are recording digital audio books for young readers who can't see print.

"It was a very rewarding experience," said Malik, 17, a junior at the school. "The cause is so great."

Melissa Dodge, a French and English teacher at the school, volunteers at the library narrating and editing audio books. She coordinated with the library to get equipment at the school so students could participate. Audio files are recorded in the classroom, then sent to the library digitally.

"There is a shortage of young readers in audio recording," Dodge said.

For the project's first year, the school's faculty chose one student to participate. Malik used her background in theater to bring life to the characters. She's performed with Pittsburgh Musical Theater in shows including "Les Miserables" and "Grease."

"I've always listened to audio books," she said. "It's a really nice thing to share with others."

As required by the program, Malik read a book with a Pennsylvania focus. She chose the debut novel of former Pennsylvania Republican U.S. Rep. Bud Shuster, "Double Buckeyes," the tale of a young boy who experiences an identity crisis when researching his family history.

Kathy Kappel, library director, called the partnership a "win-win-win."

"The students win because they can use the hours for community service hours, plus it exposes them to an aspect of service to people who are maybe a little bit different from themselves," she said.

"It's a win for the school because it introduces a project that's different from other service projects. And it's books about Pennsylvanians by Pennsylvanians to be read by Pennsylvanians."
Dodge said the program worked so well that the school will offer a 10-day audio books mini-course for students at the end of the school year. She plans to continue the program next year.

The library receives federal and state support for its recording program. It serves people who are vision impaired, as well as those with conditions such as dyslexia, ink allergies, Parkinson's or even those recovering from cataract surgery, Kappel said. Services are free.

For people with vision impairments, audio books can be an important part of their lives. Ilene Sirocca, 62, of Morningside, who is blind, said she's used the library since she was 5. She's listened to audio books on records, tapes and now digitally. 

"When you read with audio books when you're a child, it's almost like the narrator is your friend," she said.

She remembers listening to C.S. Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia" and Edward Eager's "Half Magic," as well as sea stories, her favorites. She's excited about the idea of children reading to their peers.
"I've never known that to happen," she said. "This will be just wonderful."


Books open for visually impaired - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_734938.html#ixzz1LSmXYYsU


3.  Blindness film strikes chord with charity

Charities and other worthy causes have all sorts of ways of raising awareness of their efforts – but the group which concerns itself with a common eye condition which causes blindness has gone a step further than most, promoting a movie about their cause.

Hook, Line and Sinker is a Kiwi film described as the story of "a warm and passionate family from Wellington who have to find a way to deal with the tough times when their dad begins to lose his sight and is diagnosed with macular degeneration".

It is being supported by the Macular Degeneration NZ Trust, which was quick to throw its weight behind the movie when learning of the production. As the film tours the country it is being backed by the likes of optometrists to help add profile to awareness of macular degeneration.

In Nelson, that has seen Visique Harrington Eyecare sponsor the local premiere screening which takes place at the Suter Theatre next Tuesday, May 10, at 6pm.

Besides pre-screening nibbles and the movie itself, one of the cast, Geraldine Brophy, and director Shane Loader will attend and speak about the film.

Loader says he and co-director Andrea Bosshard borrowed from the style of acclaimed British film-maker Mike Leigh, who is renowned for his use of improvisation.

Among the cast is Dame Kate Harcourt, who has macular degeneration. She plays the mother Maire in the film and is an ambassador for the macular degeneration trust.

The trust says it is supporting the film to encourage New Zealanders to have regular eye checks and to ensure that the best treatment is widely available for a disease which is the most common form of blindness in over-50s.

Tickets to Hook Line and Sinker are available from the State Cinema or Visique Nelson on 035469160.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/entertainment/4965865/Blindness-film-strikes-chord-with-charity/ 


4.  ‘Braille-iant’ idea, Globe for the visually-impaired

For students of Blind People’s Association (BPA) the world is a dark place. But this is set to change as they will soon be able to find out how vast and beautiful the earth is with its oceans and different continents.

The credit for this goes to three students from Germany, who are interning at BPA.

Milan Wesseler, Nicholas Seebens and Elly Giuliani, the three students from Germany came up with a novel idea of creating a globe in Braille for the students of BPA.

Made with plaster of Paris (POP) material, the newly designed globe has been made using various attractive synthetic enamel colours so that even students with low vision or those who are partially visually impaired can make use of it.

Interestingly, the students embossed sooji on different areas to highlight various countries by providing different textures to different countries.

Speaking to DNA, Elly shared, “We always had it in mind to do something for the students. After a long discussion, we came up with this idea. Around 80% of the work is complete. Just the labelling of names of the countries in Braille will be done after the colour applied dries up.”

Also, threads will be used to mark latitudes and longitudes on the globe.

Shelly Bapna, the public relations officer of BPA said, “This is the first time that such an informative novel model has been prepared by volunteering students. The model, which weighs more than 10 kg, will be used for the students starting this week.”

The entire project took three weeks to complete.

“We knew we had to design a product for an entirely different audience. Hence, we came up with ideas of using textured materials and threads to differentiate between countries,” said Milan.

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_a-braille-iant-idea-globe-for-the-visually-impaired_1538888


5.  Paralympics gives visually impaired kids chance to compete

SNOHOMISH --Students who are blind or visually impaired will have a chance this week to learn what it feels like to be in an Olympic event. 

The Northwest Association for Blind Athletes is scheduled to host the 2011 Paralympic Experience in Snohomish so grade school students from the county and greater Seattle area can participate in goalball, judo and tandem cycling. They can also interact with coaches scheduled to be at the event.

The Paralympic Experience is set to start at 10 a.m. Saturday at Riverview Elementary School, 7322 64th St. SE, Snohomish. Registration begins one hour earlier.

The free event is open to the public.

There's a May 4 deadline to register as a participant.

Registration forms can be found at the association's website. Students of any skill level are welcome.

"This event is to introduce students who are visually impaired to sports, and gives them the opportunity to compete," executive director Billy Henry said.

Participants will be divided into three groups so they all can compete in a one-hour session of each sport.

The association expects between 15 to 20 students to participate.

The nonprofit organization wants to provide opportunities for the blind and visually impaired people to become more engaged in sports.

This the second time this year that the Vancouver, Wash.-based group has come to Snohomish.

The organization was founded in May 2007 to help about 500 visually impaired grade school students in the Northwest become more physically active.

http://heraldnet.com/article/20110503/NEWS01/705039858