CNIB Because Braille

Happy World Braille Day! Today, we are featuring Kelsey Chen from Vancouver, B.C., winner of first prize in the group 1 category. Kelsey reads her winning story, and the Chen family sits down for an interview with Rhonda. For more information about the Annual Creative Braille Writing contest, visit cnib.ca/braillecontest.

Only one more day until World Braille Day! We are continuing with our list of winners of the 2019 Creative Writing contest. Today, we are featuring Zara Gandhi from Markham, Ontario, winner of first prize in the group 2 category. We’ll hear her winning story, along with her journey as a blind student, and her family’s journey in raising a child with sight loss. For more information about the Annual Creative Braille Writing contest, visit cnib.ca/braillecontest. *One side note: the games website Zara refers to in the interview is QSGames.com. Afterwards it was discovered that she meant to say RSGames.com.

World Braille Day is only 2 days away! In celebration, we will be interviewing the winners of the 2019 Braille Creative Writing Contest, as well as hearing the stories they wrote. Today we are featuring Zachary Abdallah from Calgary, Alberta, first prize winner in the group 3 category. For more information about the Annual Creative Braille Writing contest, visit cnib.ca/braillecontest.

This week, Rhonda is joined by Darleen Bogart, a CNIB veteran of over 50 years! Darleen takes us on a journey of her history with CNIB, from her early days as a volunteer transcriber, throughout her time at the CNIB Library. This also serves as a mini history of the organization itself. Oh, and keep an ear out for one of CNIB’s best kept secrets.

Blinded later in life due to diabetes Retinopathy, Ryan Hooey was quick to discover that braille was not only necessary for literacy, but very, very cool. With a daughter on the way, he has an exciting opportunity to incorporate braille into his life as a parent, while at the same time being the cool dad. Join Rhonda to hear what else Ryan has up his sleeve.

This week on Because Braille, Rhonda sits down with Jo Billard, who is an avid reader of braille books and is passionate about braille advocacy and literacy. She has worked with children in after-school programs, and devotes a lot of time to Club At The Hub.

This week on Because Braille, we’ve got the former president and owner of Frontier Computing, Chris Chamberlin! He and Rhonda take a deep dive into the past, present and future of Braille, exploring the exciting world of technological pluralism in which we live today.

Rhonda is joined by a long time transcriber, professional dictatypist and an old acquaintance from out East, Robert Just. Robert takes us on a journey through his life with braille in the way Maritimers do: through a series of stories and anecdotes. For instance, what do a Sports Car club, a school for the blind, and a doughnut have in common? Listen to find out!

Rhonda is joined by Sue Vaile, who is an artist who lost her sight as an adult due to type 1 diabetes, Diabetic retinopathy, and a stroke. In the beginning of her rehabilitation she was determined to learn Braille simply out of necessity, only to discover that associating the letters of the alphabet in a tactile manor rather than a visual manor helped her not just learn to read again, but also brought back her creativity and ability as an artist. It opened up her world, as well as others around her. How so? Listen to find out!

Rhonda is joined by Barbara Davis, a deafblind full time braille user who lost her vision later on in life, back in 2014. The two discuss how blind and deafblind individuals experience braille differently, along with Barbara’s extensive involvement and advocacy work with organizations including CNIB, ADP, hs, RCH, the founder of EIS, and much more. What do these acronyms stand for, and how does she manage all of this on top of a family, children and grandchildren, while still managing to find time to have lots of fun? Listen to find out!

Host Rhonda Underhill-Gray chats with Karen Brophey, Program Lead, Literacy for the GTA Foundation and a long-time advocate for braille literacy. The two discuss upcoming world-wide braille events to look forward to, the dichotomy of the perceived notion that braille is no longer relevant for literacy in this day in age despite all of the progression, inclusivity and advancements in braille technology, and finally some heartfelt stories on how braille has greatly improved the quality of life for people of all ages, and levels of ability.