Translated books for the blind

JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of blind people involved with the Mitra Netra Foundation will soon enjoy new stories and gain more knowledge thanks to Citibank volunteers, who are to translate various English books into Indonesian and input dictionary data into computers to be converted to Braille letters.

Citibank's head of corporate affairs, Ditta Amahorseya said on Tuesday that three volunteers from the bank will spend a few hours per day on the project which is due to start later this month.

Ditta, however did not give the exact date and the cost for the project.

The collaboration with the Mitra Netra Foundation is borne from the Citibank Peka program initiated earlier this year. It's our hope that through this cooperation, the blind will have more opportunities to learn new things and to build their potential," she said.

Established in 1991, the foundation is fully engaged in the education and development of the blind. So far, it has served 213 blind people at all levels of education from grade school to university.

Applauding the Citibank Peka scheme, Riyanti Ekowati, head of the foundation's education, training and social division, said "Any extra help means a lot to a blind person."

According to Ditta, the Citibank community relations program focuses on education and is not just about providing funds but also about actively involving Citibank staff.

More than 700 of Citibank employees have registered to become volunteers for its programs. (bsr)