Alrode museum reflects on the history of Braille
Locals are invited to visit the newly unveiled Alrode museum, Antonnette Botha Braille Museum, situated in 5 Fuchs Street, Alrode.
Alrode’s Blind SA has noted a good reaction since the unveiling of the first-ever Braille museum which was made public late last year.
The Alrode museum intends to provide rich information for the sighted and unsighted while also giving the public a historic culture of Braille experience.
The Antonnette Botha Braille Museum consists of different writing mediums and devices dating back centuries. It helps in highlighting and promoting the importance of Braille in the life of a blind person.
It is named after Antonnette Botha who was a blind person herself, a teacher at a school for the blind and was very involved in the development and promotion of Braille in SA and abroad.
According to Philip Jordaan, manager of the Braille services division at Blind SA, Braille is alive and kicking and they want to be part of its growth in society.
“We had a good response from the people that visited the museum, up until now. We have had at least a hundred people come through. And people are astonished at how old Braille as writing and reading format is and how bulky Braille can be. We have the Afrikaans Bible on display and people always worry how it was carried to church,” he explained.
He told the Alberton Record that Braille is a living way of reading and writing.
“Those coming through also enjoy the old equipment, maybe because people haven’t seen them before and that makes it pleasurable for us to show them around. Blind SA has always been promoting Braille and our museum shows people where it comes from and where it is headed,” Jordaan said.
He extended a call to members of the community, including schools and businesses to visit them to have a great experience.
The Braille museum is housed in Alrode’s Blind SA head office at 5 Fuchs Street, Alrode. For more information or to book a visit, contact Blind SA on 011 839 1793.
