The Ebsar Foundation for Low Vision and Blind Rehabilitation Services said a campaign by Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz, its honorary president, aims to educate and help 15,000 visually impaired people in Saudi Arabia. The national project is in line with King Abdullah's caring support of educating those in the Kingdom that are visually impaired, the foundation said in a report carried by the Saudi Press Agency. The campaign aims to improve visually impaired people's scientific knowledge, abilities and vocational skills, and educate their families about the importance of their education. Ebsar's effort includes purchasing 18,750 Braille tools and distributing them to Special Education departments, families of those with vision-related disabilities and social-service sectors. Muhammad Tawfiq Ballu, Secretary General of Ebsar, said SR3 million has been secured to buy the Braille devices. The program also involves purchasing 1,500 computer-screen readers and 3,000 walking canes that will be distributed to beneficiaries; required training will also be provided, the report said. The campaign is divided into two phases; the first of which has started in coordination with the Ministry of Education and King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, which provided Ebsar with information and statistics about blind students. The research determined that there are 2,634 blind male and female students in 13 institutions, 182 classrooms of Annour institutions for the blind and about 100 students at King Abdulaziz University.
