braille

Blind North Korean Kids Will Get Their Braille Books!

Filed under: Charity

I just heard from the team at Koryo Tours and wanted to share with you the results of their recent fundraiser. I know this is a bit unorthodox, but it's not often Luxist (or anyone else) has the opportunity to cover North Korean humanitarian charity efforts. Originally, Koryo Tours sought EUR4,400 -- EUR2,400 for 300 Braille dictionaries and EUR2,000 to install playground equipment in an orphanage in Wonsan, North Korea.

Hannah Barraclough, from Koryo Tours, writes, "We are very pleased to announce that thanks to your help we managed to raise an amazing EUR9000 which means we have been able to complete both of these projects and have surplus funds to go towards even more worthwhile projects next year - more info about these coming soon." She continues, "We (and the Korean children) are really so grateful to all of you who donated money. If any of you have been meaning to donate but haven't yet then please go ahead as it will go towards our future charity projects."

Yes, this was a "small money" charity event by the standards of Luxist, but I did hear that our readers made a noticeable difference. So, the least I could do is share with you the impact.

Tags: blind, blind children, BlindChildren, blindness, braille, dprk, north korea, NorthKorea

Koryo Tours Helps the Blind Read in North Korea

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Charity, Charity of the Day

Charitable giving is an obvious casualty of any economic downturn. Even when people want to give - or maintain their previous rates of donation - the realities of a shrinking portfolio force themselves into the decision-making process. Of course, a rather unique charity is struggling with this issue now. Koryo Tours, which takes westerners on rare excursions into North Korea, is looking to raise a mere $6,700 for two projects to benefit the people of North Korea. One involves buying braille dictionaries (which haven't been available in that part of the world), and the other is to buy playground equipment for an orphanage in Wonsan, North Korea.

If Koryo Tours is able to raise the funds necessary for the dictionaries, which is the first priority, it will be the first time that North Korean blind children will have this type of resource available -- the books currently do not exist.

Tags: braille, dictionary, donation, donations, dprk, north korea, NorthKorea, philanthropists, philanthropy

Inhabit Braille Wall Flat

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

It has been a while since we have seen a new wall flat that we really like, but the Braille Wall Flat from Inhabit is hard to resist. The raised dots on the surface really do look like Braille, although not being familiar with that particular way of writing, I can't say for certain whether it says anything or is just a pretty design. Feel free to comment below if you are familiar with it.

Adhesive tabs are used to attach the flats to the walls and the pattern is very easy to line up to create a seamless look. They are made of molded bamboo pulp paper, and because bamboo is one of the fastest self-replenishing plants in the world, the flats are very eco-friendly. On top of that, they are paintable, so if the slightly off-white base color doesn't match what you had in mind for the room, it is easy to change without loosing the design. The flats are $84 for a box of 10 18"x18" panels.

Source

Tags: Braille, decor, inhabit, wall, wall flat, wall paper, wallpaper, writing