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Braille’iant Indonesia, empowering the blind through English courses
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Movie fun: Before the pandemic, visually impaired and sighted volunteers watched movies together during the Layar Bisik program set up by Braille’iant Indonesia to strengthen the friendship between the visually impaired and the sighted. (Courtesy of Braille’iant Indonesia) (Personal archive/Courtesy of Braille’iant Indonesia)
How an online English course has helped visually impaired Indonesians navigate through their lives
In Yogyakarta, English-language teacher Veronica Christamia, 31, stands on the front line of empowering visually impaired people through her community, Braille’iant Indonesia.
For almost 10 years, she has provided free English courses for the blind in Mardi Wuto English Club (MWEC), which was set up by Braille’iant Indonesia and Mardi Wuto, a training center for the blind owned by the Mardi Wuto Foundation and Dr. Yap Eye Hospital.
During the pandemic, the courses have gone online through Google Meet. Though she is no longer able to meet her visually impaired students in person, it turns out that her online courses have widened the scope of their influence, with students coming from various cities outside Yogyakarta, such as Palu in Central Sulawesi and Ambon in Maluku.
Veronica believes that MWEC benefits the blind as English is an important medium for communication around the world.
“If the visually impaired can speak English, they will become more confident. That is the main goal of MWEC,” she said.
