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Another perspective on life
Close your eyes a moment...
When you are plunged into darkness there are so many things you have to learn or learn all over again in a different way. A blind or partially sighted person has to learn how to get dressed, read a book, cook, go to work, do the shopping...the list is obviously endless.
A lot of time and patience is required but it is not impossible to accomplish this! As for what is involved, this brief survey will give you an idea about the services on offer from the Ligue Braille.
Services & technical aids
Here you can find out how we help blind and partially sighted people.
Coping from day to day
A blind or partially sighted person gets in touch with the Ligue Braille through Social Services. They team up to review the situation, while the Service offers the person in question information, advice, and support about various concerns, such as benefits, administrative procedures and entitlements. The social workers meet the visually impaired by appointment, at home or at the Ligue Braille premises. They also man telephone hotlines on a regular basis.
Blind and partially sighted people need to be able to lead an independent life as they go about their daily business. This is where the Support Service comes in.
Occupational therapists and other care professionals teach the very many techniques a blind or partially sighted person needs to be able to cook, get dressed, use household appliances, manage a budget, carry out household tasks or look after a baby in complete safety. The service also offers the visually impaired the opportunity to learn Braille and typing in order to be able to communicate with other people and use a computer to send e-mails, scour the Internet for information, write letters and so on.
People with visual impairments have to be able to get about even though to do so is often fraught with problems. A white cane and a guide dog are invaluable tools but they have to be used in an efficient way. The Support Service and dog handlers are available to teach people the right way to go about this.
Finding your way, finding training, finding a job
Blind and partially sighted people often wonder about their life circumstances, the career opportunities open to them and what the future holds in store. Specialist psychologists are available at the Consultation and Guidance Centre to help answer these questions in the light of each person's abilities and limitations.
People attending courses may avail themselves of the Educational Support Service, where they can count on receiving the best possible assistance: coping with course notes, educational support, etc.
The Vocation Training Centre provides specially adapted training leading to a qualification for the visually impaired in order to help them acquire and hold onto a job: office technology, languages, telemarketing, telephony, reception, etc. This highly individualised training is designed to help people realise their career plans.
The Vocational Orientation Service helps blind and partially sighted people in their quest to acquire and hold onto a job. The staff their let employers know about the opportunities for recruiting these people and the value-adding opportunities they can offer a company.
Reading, playing and relaxing
Lapping up the latest trendy novel, taking part in a board game and visiting a museum are obviously daunting activities for the visually impaired.
Overcoming these difficulties and acting as a cultural gateway is one of the tasks of the Braille League, which has a Library well-stocked with books recorded on CD, transcribed into Braille or in a large print format. A Games Lending Library is available for young and less young blind and partially sighted people with games specially designed with their disability in mind.
Creative, cultural and recreational activities are organised throughout the country.
Blind and partially sighted people attend the Braille Clubs once a month to participate in modelling, basket-making, bead crafts, board games… cultural activities (theatre, talks, concerts…) and trips offer other opportunities for broadening horizons and meeting new people.
Technical aids
The huge range of technical aids available to make life easier for blind and partially sighted people includes simple items you often see in everyday life, while others are much more intricate and require special training. All of them are adapted to the relevant visual impairment.
The Braille League's shop, the BrailleShop, has small technical and mobility aids for blind and partially sighted people, such as white canes, speaking kitchen scales, adapted telephones and mobile phones, colour detectors, speaking alarm clocks, tactile watches and Braille typewriters, The shop boasts a total of 500 carefully selected items that can be compared and tried out on site before being taken away.
A huge number of blind and partially sighted people use computers for private, educational or professional purposes. Depending on the disability, a computer may be fitted with a magnification application, a voice synthesiser or a Braille display. A magnification video system or voice scanner is used to enlarge letters, newspapers or a photo, or to read documents out loud.
The Technical Adaptation Information Service offers pointers, advice and user instructions for anybody keen on trying out these assistance tools. The Service can also be relied upon to make a claim for a financial contribution from the relevant disability support agencies.
The annual BrailleTech Exhibition, attended by all the Belgian suppliers, is a unique opportunity to discover, try out and compare the existing materials and innovations.
Raising awareness and building support
The Braille League's dealings with policymakers and membership of advisory councils are aimed at championing the rights and promoting the integration of the visually impaired within the community.
The Ligue Braille also conducts campaigns to draw the general public's attention to the issue of visual impairment: dinners in the dark, guided visits of our premises, information stands, activities in schools, media campaigns, etc. The interactive, fun-oriented approach adopted for these activities helps to overcome prejudices against blindness and visual impairment, while providing a better understanding of the sorts of things visually impaired people have to contend with.
Support us
Your donation can help us in our continuing endeavour to serve blind and partially sighted people to the utmost of our abilities. Your contribution will be earmarked for items such as paying for the training of guide dogs, expanding the collection of specially adapted books and enabling blind or partially sighted children to attend self-reliance courses at the seaside.
You will be automatically issued with a tax certificate for any donation equal to €40 or more over the course of one year. If you too would like to make a contribution to promoting the well-being of blind and partially sighted people, there are several options to choose from:
Other ways of lending support
- Make a donation by bank transfer to account IBAN BE11 0000 0000 4848 - BIC GEBABEBB.
- Take part in our annual grand prize draw.
- Bequeath all or part of your assets to the Foundation for the Visually Impaired, the Ligue Braille's non-profit-making foundation.
- The head of a company can provide practical support by way of hiring a blind or partially sighted person or sponsoring one of our campaigns.
Contact
We seek to operate in all four corners of Belgium in order to make it as easy as possible for blind and partially sighted people to gain access to our services. Our regional offices are located close to stations to facilitate access for people with visual impairments.
Brussels headquarters
Located a stone's throw from the Gare du Midi Station, and thus easy to reach by train, metro, tram or bus, the Ligue Braille headquarters houses all the Services made available to blind and partially sighted people and the general public.
The building is admirably suited to people with visual impairments, who are able to move around there quite independently and in complete safety.
Address
Rue d’Angleterre 57
B- 1060 Brussels
Tel.: 02/533.32.11
E-mail: info@braille.be
How to get there
- Train: Gare du Midi station (leave the station via avenue Fonsny)
- Metro: Get off at the Porte de Hal station, or Gare du Midi station. Whichever station you choose, you have to walk only 250 m to reach our premises.
- Tram: 3, 4, 31, 32, 51, 81, 82, 83
- Bus: 27, 49, 50, 78
- Car: drive along the inner ring road as far as the Midi exit (near the railway bridge at the Nord-Midi junction) and then follow the signs to Mons until you reach avenue Fonsny. Rue d’Angleterre is the third street on the left. The Ligue Braille does not have any private parking facilities.
About us
Launched in 1920, the Ligue Braille is now lending support to over 15,500 blind and partially sighted people all over the country. Our free services are designed for just one purpose: seeking to increase the self-reliance, integration and development of blind and partially sighted people. The Ligue Braille owes its existence to the generosity of the general public, as grants cover only 22.96% of its needs.
The valuable support of volunteers
The more than 380 volunteers assisted and trained by the Ligue Braille serve in the interests of blind and partially sighted people and provide support to the members of staff. They are vital for ensuring the association runs smoothly and extra hands are always welcome!
Foundation for the Visually Impaired
The aim of this non-profit-making foundation is to:
- Lend support to the Braille League's activities
- Organise awareness-raising and information campaigns on the theme of visual impairment
- Lend support to scientific research in the area of ophthalmology.
Underpinned by the scientific committee comprising professors from the country's seven university ophthalmology centres, the Foundation is required every year to present awards to lend its backing to research conducted by young ophthalmologists.
