Put Urdu literature on cassette
for the blind and elderly

For the blind and the elderly who can no longer see well, access to good literature is seriously limited. This is especially important since it's the senior citizens who are often retired and have the free time to broaden their knowledge and take an interest in reading.

This is even more true for material available in the Urdu language. While English is the lingua franca of the world, Urdu is not, and access to material for the blind in Pakistan's official language is virtually non-existent.

You can give local Pakistani-Americans who are either blind or vision impaired the gift of Urdu literature by putting reading material on cassettes for them to listen to. Not only will this increase their knowledge, it can also help them break out of the isolation many of the blind and elderly feel in virtually all ethnic groups.

Start off by identifying people in your community who would be interested in and benefit from the project. Do your friends have older parents or grandparents who live with them and have difficulty passing their time? Is there a blind person who would like to keep up with current events in Pakistan but cannot read Urdu literature the way s/he can read English literature in Braille?

Once you've found those who you feel can benefit from the project, team up with some supportive friends and interview each of the blind or vision impaired by phone, or preferably, in person. By using the latter method, you are not just conducting a "business" interview, but you are visiting someone who is probably very lonely and rarely receives company.

During the interview, you need to find out:
a. their level of Urdu comprehension
b. what kind of material are they interested in (fiction and non-fiction books, newspapers and magazines, religious material, etc.).
c. can they give specific titles of publications they would like put on cassette
d. how long they would need to finish with a cassette of material

Once you've got your answers, it's time for you and your team to make a plan. Based on what you found out during the interviews, select the books or material that were mentioned most often. For example, current events publications and religious books could be the two types that are most popular. Also, see if there are certain titles which were commonly asked for during the interviews (i.e. The newspaper Jang, the Quran in Urdu).

Start looking for copies of the most popular titles. Begin with news publications which are shorter and more easily accessible. You can probably borrow copies from a local Pakistani-American who subscribes to the publication or even check out a nearby library if it has material from all over the world.

Another source you can look into is Pakistan associations for the blind. Some of them have produced material on cassette for the blind in Urdu. If it isn't too expensive to get these productions.

In terms of costs, you will need to cover the expenses of cassettes, equipment and maybe even recording space. You will want to seek donations from local Pakistanis, the local association for the blind or even look into getting a government grant for this.. The association for the blind in your city may actually be helpful in providing a place for recording and access to quality equipment for a minimal or no charge.

Look for individuals who can read and speak Urdu fluently to put the material on tape. Find about five or six so the burden of the work is divided. Ask them to do this as a volunteer effort to help the blind and vision impaired of the community.

Find a place to record the cassettes. If possible, book studio time at a radio station in your community. See if there is an association for the blind that has this facility available.
If this isn't possible, then find a person who has a soundproof room or basement in their home. Ask if you can set up equipment for this project there once a week to record titles.

Once you've started the recording, you can begin advertising the availability of this material. However, you have to establish a good system that ensures that the cassettes are borrowed and returned in a timely manner. It isn't feasible to have the cassettes only accessible in a specific place (like the Pakistan reading room PROVIDE LINK), since the blind and visually impaired, especially those who are elderly, have difficulty getting out of their homes.

One way to bypass this is to make two copies of each cassette. One of them will be available for public consumption. The other one will be kept for records and in case the other copy is lost.

Individuals can borrow cassettes for a set period of time. Two weeks to a month should be reasonable and you'll need to have volunteers follow up to get the borrowed material back in a timely manner. Also, offer a copy of the cassettes to your local blind association's library so that if there are Urdu speakers who go there, they too can enjoy this facility.

Finally, keep recording and sending new material on a regular basis. You will probably get requests to produce certain specific publication as your services become well known. In addition, if possible, send copies to blind associations in Pakistan of your work with a letter describing how and why you put the project together. This way, you will also be benefitting the blind and vision impaired in Pakistan.

Resources for the blind on the web

1.The Pakistan Foundation Fighting Blindness
http://www.pffb.org.pk/

2.WRBH: Reading Radio for the Blind and Print Handicapped
http://www.wrbh.org/

3.Insight for the Blind
http://www.insightftb.org/

4.Read em' and speak: Books and reading from a blind perspective
http://www.hicom.net/~oedipus/books/

Date/Time Last Modified: 6/17/2002 3:48:28 PM

© 2004, Human Development Foundation. All rights reserved.
1350 Remington Road, Suite W, Schaumburg, Il. 60173
Toll Free: (800) 705-1310 | Email: info@yespakistan.com | Privacy Policy