| Ishan Ibrahim |
A NUMBER of people have heeded the Brunei Darussalam National Association of the Blind (BDNAB)’s call for volunteers on social media when they gathered at the association’s headquarters at Plaza Athirah, Jalan Kubah Makam Diraja, Batu Satu in Jalan Tutong yesterday to help out with the association’s activities.
The day’s volunteer work included retyping of ordinary books which will then be processed into Braille books for visually impaired and blind members of the society.
BDNAB President Muhammad Hamzi bin Omar, himself a blind member of the society, said such volunteers are very much needed by the association.
He said, “Many of them are from colleges and higher educational institutions. This particular volunteerism activity is specially planned for September, but it may be extended to other months depending on the work that needs to be done.
“The response to our volunteerism call on social media had been good. Many individuals such as representatives from non-governmental organisations (NGOs), college students and others have asked how they can help the association.
“The books that need to be retyped prior to being processed into Braille books for the blind include academic books as well as fictional and non-fictional books.”
Muhammad Hamzi added that the volunteers will be exposed to blindness awareness sessions so that they can pass on their knowledge from the sessions to the public. This will include topics such as eyesight problems, eye care and how to render support to family members or individuals suffering from blindness or visual impairments.
“This volunteer activity is called Braillethon 3.0. Our previous ‘Braillethons’ received good response from the public, especially from colleges and higher education institution students,” he said.
Muhammad Hamzi said the association is again looking for volunteers for the World Sight Day celebrations on October 11.
“Again, we are calling for volunteers to participate in the activities for this celebration, which is scheduled to be held preferably during Bandarku Ceria,” he said.
“The event, as with the previous ones, will be organised by the Ministry of Health. There will be talks and presentations on eye care, eyesight problems and other issues pertaining to the eyes. The association’s blind members might also deliver talks on their experiences and how they cope with their disabilities in their daily lives.”
One of the volunteers for Braillethon 3.0, Izazi Jazilah binti Mosli who is a recent Biology graduate from Universiti Brunei Darussalam, said that though she had previously participated in volunteer work such as beach cleaning campaigns, this was her first time volunteering for the BDNAB.
“I intend to continue to study for my Master’s degree, but in the spare time before I begin the programme, I wanted to do something good for society. I hope that what I am doing now will be beneficial for the association,” she said.