Help for the visually-impaired Bank produces 16 books in Braille and compact discs STANDARD CHARTERED’S Seeing is Believing campaign is a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative that goes beyond cheque book philanthropy. Its latest project involves bank employees producing 16 audio and Braille books for the visually- impaired. Student Nur Atikah Kamaruddin, 13, gets the feel of
The book series, launched last week, features titles in Bahasa Malaysia about the various Malaysian states as well as a farming series, selected based on feedback from visually-impaired schoolchildren.
one of the books in Braille.
"We realised there are actually very little educational materials, especially in Bahasa
Malaysia for visually-impaired schoolchildren other than text books," said the bank’s CEO and managing director, Osman Morad.
He said it cost about RM100,000 to print 3,200 copies, which will be distributed to 39 special education schools and five organisations under the National Council
for the Blind.
The project saw 33 bank staff spending six months of their spare time doing audio recordings and typing out text for the books to be transformed into Braille using a special computer.
The Standard Chartered plans to produce another 21 book titles.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, who officiated the launch, said she admired the campaign for its clarity and focus on a particular target group which enabled it to come out with projects that would have a lasting impact.
She said while her ministry has done a lot of work for the disabled, much more needs to be done, and one such area would be the availability of appropriate learning materials not only for children with disabilities but for adults as well.
Zarina Hosnin, 26, who is visually- impaired and is part of the bank’s Consumer Banking Tele-Sales team, said the project was a good idea.
"It provides more material for them to improve themselves academically," she said.
She said finding employment with Standard Chartered enabled her to lead a more varied social life as well as earn a living and interact with people from all walks of life through her work on the phone.
