Chuck Kuhn's Asia in Photos: Vietnam Sets Up Speaking Library For Blind

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Vietnam Sets Up Speaking Library For Blind

Vietnam sets up speaking library has made the world a brighter place for many blind and visually impaired children, its news agency VNA reported.Run by the Ho Chi Minh City Women's Union, the library is the brainchild of Nguyen Huong Duong, a member of the union's volunteer staff.Duong set up the library in 1998 after a visit to the city's Nguyen Dinh Chieu Blind Children School where she was taken aback by the lack of stimulation and entertainment available for the children.All they had for fun were a few Braille books and a single radio, which broadcast children's entertainment programmes for just 15 minutes a day, Duong recalls,"I thinks I'll involve myself in the job of developing the 'speaking library' for the rest of my life," said the 37-year-old Duong, who lost her legs in a horrific traffic accident.Duong's project and dream has been hugely successful thanks to the sponsorship of the HCM City Women's Union and the supply of many other benefactors, both organisations and individuals.The library now offers over 820 recorded books, including Vietnamese and foreign novels, short stories, poems and collection of legends, giving visually impaired children access to a wonderful world of dreams, hopes and smiles.It has also recorded and presented nearly 150,000 cassette books for schools and cultural centres in poor and remote areas across the country, where the blind community endures the hardship of inadequate reading materials."Blind children are unable to see the world, but they can get a feel for it from our library's speaking books," said Duong.Duong and her staff do every thing by themselves such as borrowing books from local libraries and publishing houses, reading and recording and dubbing music into cassette tapes.It takes the special librarians at least a month to record a novel on 20 tapes.Now Duong and her colleagues have further widened the reach of their work with part-time jobs at local radio stations where they read books and host entertainment programmes for children.-- BERNAMA

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They say "

“I can’t say what made me fall in love with Vietnam - that a woman’s voice can drug you; that everything is so intense. The colors, the taste, even the rain. Nothing like the filthy rain in London. They say whatever you’re looking for, you will find here. They say you come to Vietnam and you understand a lot in a few minutes, but the rest has got to be lived. The smell: that’s the first thing that hits you, promising everything in exchange for your soul. And the heat. Your shirt is straightaway a rag. You can hardly remember your name, or what you came to escape from. But at night, there’s a breeze. The river is beautiful. You could be forgiven for thinking there was no war; that the gunshots were fireworks; that only pleasure matters. A pipe of opium, or the touch of a girl who might tell you she loves you. And then, something happens, as you knew it would. And nothing can ever be the same again.”
― Graham Greene, The Quiet American

Tips on Travel to Vietnam

It's always warm in Southeast Asia apart from high mountains, so leave the heavy clothing at home. Cotton and breathable fabrics are always better than synthetics -- although cotton does wrinkle a lot when traveling! December through April is roughly the dry season in that region, although it can still rain a little. December is a good time to go in terms of temperature -- cooler than in the humid summertime. Either way, wearing more clothing (shirt sleeves and long pants) is always more respectful towards the Asian culture, especially when visiting temples and rural areas.