ANTSIRABE, Madagascar — The only Braille press in Madagascar is the result of co-operation between the Lutheran Church, the Malagasy Bible Society and UBS. It is located in a Lutheran Church school for the blind (one of three in the country) on a hill overlooking Antsirabe. The press began production in 1996, and derives additional financial support from the Netherlands Bible Society, and Christoffel Blinden- mission, a German organisation for the blind. “The press,” explained Hoby Andriamoria, Director of the local MBS depot, “provides Scriptures and school texts for the whole of Madagascar.” In a room where desktop publishing equipment was set up, a technician, Mr Rakotoarison, explained that the computerised Braille printer is very sensitive and that the special types of paper needed have to be imported. Then he waved his hand toward reams of paper stacked from floor to ceiling. “It is the United Bible Societies who sent us this paper so that we can print Bible texts,” he said. “Printing Scriptures is our first task, but in between we sometimes print books used in schools.” In the beginners’ class, the students start learning to read Braille. Games teach reading
“We use a block of wood with holes in it which we call a ‘bush taxi’,” Mlle Rasoanoely Ratolojanahary, the school’s director, explained. “Then we take these people,” she said, holding up some wooden pegs, “and put them into the bush taxi. Here is person one…person two…person three…all getting into the bush taxi. The position of the passengers determines which letter the bush taxi spells. So with this one bush taxi we can spell out all of the letters of the alphabet. And this is how we play games to teach reading.” As soon as the children have
mastered the single-letter bush taxi, they move on to boards with more
peg-holes which allow them to group letters into words, and from there
they graduate to reading Braille on paper. In the next classroom, older, more advanced students were working for their international Certificat d’Éducation Primaire using an assortment of old manual typewriters. They do this because typewriters make any mistakes – and so any areas in need of improvement – quite clear. Perfect typists“These students do very well,” said Mr Andriamoria. “Some get a perfect score and are able to get jobs as typists – but a person who wants a job as a typist must be perfect,” he added. The class concentrated silently on the words of the teacher and on the keys at their fingertips. Back in the main building, a student called Bernard was happy to give a reading from the Braille Book of Psalms. After Mr Andriamoria had translated his reading he added something personal. “He has already read the Book of Psalms,” Mr Andriamoria
explained, “and he would like to share some of it with others who
cannot read. He says, for example, that he can share his testimony by
means of the verse in the 23rd Psalm which says ‘I will fear no
ill’.”
Humbled, I wanted to offer this young blind man encouragement but I struggled to find the words. “Sharing the Word of God with people who have not heard it! That is excellent – the work of missionaries!” I replied. I considered the amazing scene of Bernard sharing the words from a Braille Bible with others who could see – but not read. FluentAnother student, Rakotoniaina Nomenjanahary, also gave a fluent Bible reading. Asked for a story or passage which he had found helpful, he cited a part of Luke’s Gospel where Jesus assembled the disciples and gave them authority to drive impure spirits out of people. Once again it was hard to find adequate words of encouragement. I asked Mr Andriamoria to wish them encouragement of the kind which can be found in the stories of Jesus’ time on earth. Then I watched the two young men walk away, leading each other down a long open verandah and then down a narrow open staircase on this beautiful Malagasy day. (WR 362/18 - 09.01) [PHOTOS] |
