Very good news. Is there any cafe like this in India? Renuka. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Geetha Shamanna" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Access india" <accessindia@accessindia.org.in> Sent: Friday, December 15, 2006 10:29 PM Subject: [AI] Fwd: Pakistan's first-ever Internet Café for the visually impaired
>ISLAMABAD . Pakistan's first-ever Internetcafé >for the visually impaired has been inaugurated. > >The project has been funded by the World Bank >and the Pakistan Foundation Fighting Blindness (PFFB). > >The WB granted Rs1.5m to the facility that >promises to help bridge the technological gap >between the blind and those blessed with the >eyesight. The café would also link national and >international blind communities. > >IT Helpline Project Director Zahid Abdullah said >the café involved the use of the JAWS software >that provides voice output for every command >given to the computer, enabling the blind to >know what their fingers are doing. > >Aqil Sajjad, the first visually impaired >Pakistani pursuing his PhD at Harvard, >introduced the software in Islamabad in 1999. >The software was developed in the US 20 years ago. > >The café is absolutely free and is equipped with >the latest computers, scanner, printer and DSL >connection for fast Internet browsing. > >Officials said the facility would remain open >from 4 pm to 7 pm Abdullah said the education >and technology were two major levellers in the >life of a visually impaired person. He hoped >that students and professionals would make good use of the café. > >Special Education Director General Sarfraz Ahmed >asked the PFFB to submit proposals for the >government to consider setting up more such >facilities. He regretted that his directorate >was established 38 years after Pakistan's >creation and the first policy for the disabled was formulated only in 2002. > >Maqbool Ahmed, director of PFFB's medical and >research project, said 100 members of one family >in Pakistan had been diagnosed as suffering from >Retinitis Pigemento (RP), a genetically >transmitted disease that causes progressive loss of vision. To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
