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Living in Peru
Israel Ruiz

A congressional commission for disabled people has begun a campaign to raise funds to purchase the material necessary to teach 5,000 blind children in Peru how to read Braille.

There are half a million visually disabled people in Peru, this is 13 percent of the country's entire population, said a report released by EFE news.

Of this total, one hundred thousand are school-age children and adolescents that do not know how to read or write because their families do not have the means to teach them Braille, said Michael Urtecho, head of the parliament commission for disabled people.

Urtecho, who uses a wheelchair himself, explained that of the total number of blind people in Peru, 90 percent are illiterate because the country does not provide the tools needed to help them.

Faced with this problem, Urtecho has contacted a Brazilian company that manufactures this material and plans to purchase the supplies needed to teach 5,000 children Braille with donations.

It is hoped that the campaign "Hands that See", which is to last until April 5, will raise enough money to purchase the material to teach 5,000 children to read Braille.

A set of supplies for one child costs $10.

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