Good Things in Sight – And Not Only for the Blind Children

Virginia will arrive in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to the Abugida school on 8th May to start up the classrooms for blind children.

In 2002, Virginia Pérez won first prize in a competition in Spain for her innovative invention. A doll – called Braillin – which helps the blind to learn Braille. Today it is very popular in Spain and the whole European community where they have developed her brand. Even the Chinese are manufacturing them.

Since winning the ONCE prize Virginia hadn’t received any kind of subsidy. Now at last her good work has been vindicated and recognized in her home country of Argentina. The Provincial state of Corrientes has promised – after her trip to Ethiopia – to finance the mass production of the doll. We are very pleased at this news (and to be part of it all). Sometimes the world is a nice place and globalization is a good thing…

In a month’s time Virginia will arrive in Ethiopia having been invited to spend two months to show her Braillin doll and demonstrate its uses and to reinforce the theory that toys can help the children to integrate socially.

“Braillin” is much more than a doll. It is an educational tool that helps both sighted and blind children to learn Braille and was devised and created by the teacher born in Buenos Aires, but now living in Corrientes.

Virginia herself confirmed that “the Secretary General of the Government, Carlos Vignolo, has promised to finance the mass production in the Province of Corrientes”. “It has already been discussed and we will start work on the project when I return from Africa. I have so many expectations in this experience I’m about to undertake in Ethiopia and when I return we are going to work fully on the production together with the Provincial Government”, she assured Radio 92.9 Corrientes.