Software opens up new world for blind<\/p>\n
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
\"I love the Internet because it opens up new worlds for me,
\nanything I want to know about is there, and thanks to screen
\nreader I don't have to depend on others to understand,\" said 18-
\nyear-old M. Ikhwan Toriqo as he accessed more websites.<\/p>\n
Glaucoma robbed Riqo of his vision when he was only 11 years
\nold, and before the Internet and the screen reader software, the
\nlanky high school student was dependent on others to be able to
\naccess any printed information.<\/p>\n
\"I like reading about computer stuff, it doesn't come in
\naudiobook form. Novels I get through audiobook, but since most
\nare in English, I don't really understand them either,\" Riqo, who
\nwants to study IT at university but is unsure whether any will
\nadmit a visually impaired student, told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
A lack of reading materials for the visually impaired --
\nparticularly popular literature in Bahasa Indonesia -- is one of
\nthe biggest obstacles for the blind who want to get ahead in this
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
\"They say that books are the window to the world, but there is
\nhardly a publisher here that produces popular books in both print
\nand audio forms,\" Mitra Netra Foundation deputy executive
\ndirector Irwan Dwi Kustanto, said.<\/p>\n
Himself suffering from reduced vision -- only 2 percent of his
\neyesight remains -- Irwan remembers the frustrations of having to
\nalways ask another person to read to him.<\/p>\n
The foundation has been developing audiobooks since 1992,
\nwhich to date total more than 3,000 titles -- mainly instruction
\nmanuals and school textbooks. But compared to the number of books
\nbeing printed each day in the world of the people with full
\nvision, the blind cannot keep up.<\/p>\n
\"The cost of producing an audiobook is quite high -- for the
\nrecording studio itself, hiring someone who is a good enough
\nreader -- we are only able to produce a maximum of 20 books a
\nmonth,\" Irwan said.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, digital books read through a screen reader
\nwere much cheaper, easier and faster to produce. All they needed
\nwere volunteers to retype the printed books into Microsoft Word
\nformat.<\/p>\n
Which is why, Mitra Netra Foundation launched the One Thousand
\nBooks for the Visually Impaired program early this week.<\/p>\n
\"We ask volunteers to set aside some time in their hectic
\nschedules to retype the books they choose themselves and send
\nthem to us through e-mail or post,\" Irwan said, adding that the
\nfoundation has the support of Samsung DigitAll Hope for the
\ninitial 300 books.<\/p>\n
A list of books that needed to be retyped are available
\nthrough www.mitranetra.or.id\/ebook, but volunteers may also
\nsuggest their own titles. The foundation only requires the books
\nto be popular literature, in Bahasa Indonesia and published in or
\nafter 2000, to provide the blind access to the latest trends and
\ninformation.<\/p>\n
\"We don't want to always be the last to know. As it is, we can
\nonly listen to others talk of how great some new books are,
\nwithout having immediate access to them,\" Irwan said.<\/p>\n
The retyped books will then be edited and converted into a
\nform that the blind can access -- audio with the help of a screen
\nreader software for the blind, and magnified letters for those
\nwith limited vision.<\/p>\n
The finished product will then be distributed through four
\nspecial libraries for the blind in Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta,
\nand Makassar.<\/p>\n
\"Because the digital talking books need special computer
\nsoftware, they can only be accessed through computers in the
\nlibraries,\" Irwan said, explaining that the foundation has also
\nbeen training the blind to use the computer and the Internet.<\/p>\n
He also said that since the books are for the noncommercial
\nuse of the visually impaired, copyrights are waived according to
\nthe 2002 Law No. 19 on Intellectual Property Rights.<\/p>\n
For more information on the program, please contact Mitra
\nNetra Foundation, Jl. Gunung Balong II No. 58, Lebak Bulus 3,
\nSouth Jakarta. Tel. 021-7651386, 75913480, Fax 021-7655264.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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