Braille Without Borders

NEW:
NEWSLETTERS

TIBET:
What/who is BWB
Visiting hours
Medical massage clinic
Counterpart Tibet
Awards & Recognition

BWB IN INDIA
kanthari
Application kanthari

MEDIA:
BOOK
My paths leads to Tibet

Sabriye & Paul interview
See CCTV9 Talkshow
Theatre play

FILM
"BLINDSIGHT"
Erik Weihenmayer

BWB SUPPORT:
BWB GERMANY
BWB SWITZERLAND
BWB HOLLAND
BWB USA

SUPPORTERS

Vision Textiles

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What and Who is Braille Without Borders

BWB is an international development organization which aims to create training programs and Braille book printing houses for blind and visual impaired people. Braille is used as the basic tool to impart literacy to blind people. "Without Borders" on one hand means BWB can work anywhere in the world, but more important BWB doesn't want to set any borders for blind people.

About The Name "Braille Without Borders":
Since September 2002 Sabriye Tenberken and Paul Kronenberg named their organization "Braille Without Borders". This name carries two important meanings: "Without Borders" so the organisation can work anywhere in the world and "Without Borders" since the organisation doesn't want to set any borders for blind people. Every individual, blind or low vision needs to get a chance to explore its own borders. Therefore it is necessary that every individual is challenged and not blocked by the sighted society to do so. Braille Without Borders wants to literate blind people with the use of the Braille script so they get access to literature and so get access to knowledge. Knowledge will give them the possibility to learn/perform a profession which enables them to integrate themselves into society. Braille Without Borders is working on the realisation of an International Institute for Social Entrepreneurs (IISE) in Trivandrum, Kerala, South India.

OUR VALUES AND BELIEFS

•   The organisation does not see borders within the realm of possibilities of people with blindness.
•   Being blind is no reason to be socially excluded.
•   Blindness is a personal characteristic, which ought to be viewed free of bias, not as a stain or a deviance.
•   Blindness is not a disability, when:
1.   Society accepts blindness as an equal form of life, and does not discriminate people for being blind.
2.   People with blindness have access to opportunities that afford them to learn enabling techniques and methods, that compensate for their ‘not seeing’.
3.   People with blindness and visual impairments organize/empower themselves and fight self-assured for equal opportunities.

TARGET GROUPS
People with blindness and visual impairments worldwide, without regard to race, creed, national origin, sex, age, handicap, disease entity, social status, financial status, or religious affiliation.

ACTIVITIES AND GOALS
•    Braille Without Borders focuses on help-for-self-help.
•    In the IISE blind and visually impaired people from all over the world will be trained so they will be able to set up their own Braille Without Borders training centres for the blind, social projects for other marginalized groups of people or environmental projects in their own regions /countries.
•    The training includes:
    - Management, Project planning, Fundraising skills
    - English, speech and debate training
    - Computer hard & software, use of special equipment for the blind.
    - Administration and bookkeeping skills
    - Communication and PR
    - Practical training in existing development projects.

The Braille script is the basis of literacy for the blind worldwide. Literacy programs are the basis for education. And education provides the basis for integration. Only a fraction of the blind worldwide is literate. 9 out of 10 blind children in developing countries don't have access to education. Only few blind people are fully integrated in the society of the sighted.