Braille Teaching – Special needs education: Archive Report (2008):

In September 2006, Doses of Hope established a Braille teaching and production centre in Hargeisa for visually impaired children and young adults. The Somaliland Braille Centre (SBC), set up in partnership with Force Foundation based in the Hague, has taught 40 children since its inception, and will take another 70 for the year 2008-2009. Its Braille books can benefit many more.

The issue of print vs. Braille evokes strong emotions in blind people, parents of blind children and educators alike. For some people, Braille is a symbol of loss. Reading Braille means they are blind – and being blind means they are dependent and incapable. For other people, Braille symbolizes independence: the ability to gain and organize information without relying on another person's judgment about what is important. It means being able to read a book in bed because there is no need to rely on a print magnification device that cannot be taken to bed. Educators in Somaliland sometimes view Braille as something that is difficult to learn and is best avoided; in other parts of the world it is viewed as "the key to literacy".

The purpose of the centre is two-fold: teaching the visually impaired learners how to read and write Braille; and producing text in Braille. The production side translates the regular school text into Braille, enabling students to follow it after they learn Braille.

Several teenage boys have come to Doses of Hope because they lost not only their hands to landmines but their eyes as well. The first was Mustaphah. He spent time with the physiotherapist, building flexibility and sensitivity with his existing limbs. He learned, with his chin and one stump, to take the top off a thermos flask and pour out tea. Now he is learning to read Braille with his lips and type with his toes. He is in class in the school and is a great deal happier. But there are four more teenagers with the same disabilities.

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