Letters of love, hope and peace from SIBF 2023 for children who can’t see

A blind Palestinian woman is helping visitors to the 42nd Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) send out letters of love, hope and peace to children who can’t see.

22-year-old Raneem Ahmed, who was born without eyes, is helping type out personalised messages in braille for blind children around the world as part of the Sharjah-based global non-profit Kalimat Foundation’s Ara (I see) initiative that supports blind and visually impaired children by facilitating the production of Arabic content in braille and other accessible formats.

“I’m here to tell people that the blind can also read and write. I want to show everybody how we use the braille on a typewriter to express ourselves and even write or read,” says Raneem who teaches blind children of different age groups how to use the tactile writing system for the visually impaired created by Frenchman Louis Braille in 1824.

“Letters typed by Raneem on behalf of guests attending the 12-day festival will eventually be included in books that will be distributed to blind children this year as part of Kalimat’s ‘Ara’ initiative that distributes accessible books for blind and visually impaired children. “This is our way of telling [blind children] not to give up and that there is hope that they must see,” adds Raneem, explaining how her letters ­­written on behalf of this year’s SIBF attendees – young and old alike – will go on to play a huge role in integrating the visionless children back into mainstream by providing them books to read.

And what’s the best message she has typed out so far at the 12-day festival being held at the Sharjah Expo Centre until November 12? “Don’t abandon your dreams,” says the psychology major from Ajman University. “This struck a chord with me because if you don’t give up, you will get to where you want to be. If you cannot see what you have, then dream on and you will achieve it,” she adds.

Kalimat Foundation’s ‘Ara’ initiative has been empowering blind and visually-impaired children by ensuring their right to access resources of knowledge. Its objectives reflect the mandate set out in the 2013 Marrakesh Treaty, on the availability of books in accessible formats, for the blind, the visually impaired, and those who have print disabilities. To date, Ara has facilitated the production and distribution of more than 30,000 accessible books, locally, regionally and internationally.