Rehabilitation for The Visually Impaired in Taiwan

With the beginning of 2020, TDTB has not let its footsteps pause. Although the climate in Spring is endless, and COVID-19 has caused global panic, TDTB still maintains a consistent and steady pace, and actively launches a series of activities to provide services for the visually impaired. Not interrupted by external influences. This year, TDTB also began to promote new-type programs. Through the links of local NPO and Corporate visits, we hope that more people can support us through understanding and make TDTB's visually impaired services better through your support. In the week of March 23-27, GlobalGiving held a Little by Little Campaign event. As long as you donate a small amount to this project (below $ 50), GlobalGiving will provide a relative amount of 50%, greatly improving your benefits of donations are welcome.

1. Board Meeting of TDTB (Feb.7)

The traditional Chinese Lunar New Year holiday has just ended, and TDTB has been busy and fulfilling for a year, starting with the board meeting. The Board members are made up of a group of friends who are enthusiastic about visually impaired services and those who have received the services of TDTB in the past. During the meeting, we discussed and established a consensus on the development priorities and future goals of this year. Through the meeting, provided a good starting point for this year's service.

2. Volunteer training (Mar.7)

To consolidate the friendship of the volunteers of TDTB and become an important supports of the visually impaired service, volunteer partners are invited to learn from the services of TDTB → Guided introduction for the visually impaired (Human-guides Techniques) + implementation → recognize DAISY audiobook → audio software/hardware introduction + Implementation → exchange of recorded works and conduct a series of volunteer training. In the first module in March, TDTB President of Board Dr. Wang Janli ’s explanation of  TDTB services, and the visually impaired social workers’ instructions on the guidance method for the visually impaired, plus the internship experience at a nearby famous spot, , not only allowed volunteers understand the service spirit of TDTB, and through activities make volunteers a strong linking for the Society.

3. Podcast program online (Jan.26)

In order to expand the promotion of visually impaired services, TDTB has added new online radio programs since January this year. It is based on the book “Blindness: What it is, What it does and How to live with it” by Fr. Thomas J. Carroll. In the chapter, different guests are invited to discuss the loss and rehabilitation of the visually impaired. The program is launched on the Podcast every Thursday and is also broadcast on the Youtube channel, reaching more audiences who want to know about visually impaired services through the power of the internet.

4. Cultural travel (Jan.18, Mar.14)

To allow the visually impaired to travel through culture, on the one hand, they have a better understanding of the living environment, and on the other hand, increase the interaction of the visually impaired through group activities and get out of the closed environment. Two different types of cultural tours were conducted this season. One was to visit the peeling raft and the local education center in the historical district of the Wanhua area so that the visually impaired could experience the development process of Taiwan's traditional culture through listening and touching. The other is an outdoor activity that leads the visually impaired to Xiangshan, a suburb of Taipei. Through contact with nature and the introduction of surrounding landscapes and plants, the visually impaired can stretch their muscles and improve their knowledge.

5. Organization visit(Feb-Mar)

To increase the local connection and expand the contact surface of the service object through contact with the relevant organization,  visited the , an NPO serviced for a nomad, and a group of 36 local NPOs in Mar.18).  besides, to expand our contact with relevant NPOs and enterprises, it was on Feb.5 and Feb.19 ITRI. Let services go out through visits and links.

6. National Open University Cooperation (Mar.4)

To serve more visually impaired people, we cooperate with National Open University (NOU) to produce an e-book of the school's publications and place it in the DAISY library of TDTB for students with visual impairment at the school to borrow and study online. Through this cooperation, TDTB has also increased the number of services for students with visual impairment. The ceremony of the cooperation agreement was signed on March 11th at NOU and was signed by the president of the university, Dr. Chen Songbai, and the chairman of TDTB, Dr. Wang Janli. The two parties started a new service milestone.

Links:

• We are NPO serving the visually impaired with technology