PwD gives back to community by translating braille reading materials

BUTTERWORTH: A PwD (person with disabilities) who has visual impairment does not make it an obstacle to serve the community, especially for those in his situation.

Mohd Hazani Abdullah, 37, who is a translator of Braille reading materials at the Penang Public Library Corporation (PPAPP), described his career as fun and satisfying.

"I feel this career is fun because I have the opportunity to explore challenging fields as well as educate the community, especially PwDs, through reading," he said when met by Bernama at the PPAPP near Seberang Jaya, here, recently.

He said that due to the very limited reading materials in Braille and at the same time having a high demand (for such material) among readers, prompted him try his hand at translation work with more gusto.

"Because there is a high demand among the community for Braille reading materials, I intend to ensure that the underprivileged are not left behind in gaining any knowledge and do not want them to feel excluded due to the lack of experience," said Mohd Hazani, who started his career at the PPAPP in 2006.

Meanwhile, Mohd Hazani, the eldest of the three siblings said, the process of translating Braille reading materials in the the children's book category takes a day in order to translate 30 pages of reading matter.

"For novels, for example, the duration (for translating) takes a month, and this includes the process of scanning the text (for a book), editing (word revision), typing, and then binding the book depending on the thickness of the manuscript.

"The process involves the use of special machines consisting of scanners, computers with Braille software known as Duxbury (which has the software to translate text or writing from the original book to Braille), and also Braille printing machines," he said.

Talking about his experience when he first began the job, Mohd Hazani admitted that the field was quite challenging but after undergoing several courses and training provided by PPAPP, and getting guidance from colleagues, things that were considered difficult turned easy and eventually yielded results that were very sweet for him.

"Unforgettable memories are when the translated book I produced under the PPAPP Coberate project, which is a combination of three elements; original sentences in the book, translation (Braille writing) and picture collage (using tactile senses), were selected to participate in a competition and exhibition at the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions in Athens, Greece in 2019, " he said.

Hailing from Alor Setar, Kedah, Mohd Hazani added that the PPAPP Coberate project had received widespread attention by international participants and the response received at that time was very encouraging and he even stated that only PPAPP produces Coberate books in Malaysia.

"Coberate (books) are produced in four languages namely Malay, English, Mandarin and Tamil, and (the project) is seen as a platform to attract PwDs to visit the library.

"And if possible, we at PPAPP want to ensure that parents or children who are either visually impaired or normal have control over Braille reading materials so that the knowledge gained will continue to grow," he added.

To date, the translation of Braille reading materials at PPAPP for several book categories including children's story books, novels, collections of primary and secondary school examination papers, and academic manuscripts have been successfully translated into 3,420 books since its introduction in 2002.

-- BERNAMA