FORCE Foundation UK/FORCE Worldwide

Annual Report 2005

Introduction

FORCE Foundation UK, a UK registered charity, was founded in 2005 on the initiative of Stichting FORCE (FORCE Foundation Netherlands). FORCE Foundation UK, together with Stiftung FORCE in Germany and Stichting FORCE in the Netherlands, form the FORCE Worldwide Foundation, which is based in The Hague, the Netherlands. FORCE Worldwide was set up in 2004 to coordinate all the various FORCE activities and financial affairs. Stichting FORCE was founded in 1998 in the Netherlands and since its establishment has been active in more than 40 countries worldwide. The four organisations are independent, but work together in many areas of project organisation and planning.

In short, FORCE's mission is to make the world of print accessible to those who are blind or partially sighted. It helps blind and visually impaired children and adults in developing countries and the former Soviet Union to improve their chances in life by providing access to information in a format that they can read. To this aim, FORCE provides expertise and hands-on training for institutions in developing countries that are responsible for the production and/or distribution of information in alternative format materials. Such institutions are usually public or specialised libraries, associations for/of the blind and partially sighted and schools for the blind.

FORCE Foundation UK officially received registered charity status in May 2005. Based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, it has close links with the RNIB and Share the Vision and is run by a former FORCE Netherlands employee, Suzanne Lawson.  It is hoped that this new branch of the FORCE Foundation, together with the partner organisations in the Netherlands and Germany, will enable much needed expansion of activities and that more and more blind and visually impaired people in developing countries will benefit.

In 2005, FORCE again initiated a wide range of new projects, while naturally continuing the ones that were already up and running. Although the focus lies mainly on projects that can be performed within libraries (either special or public), the foundation also cooperates closely with institutions run by and for the visually impaired.

In developing countries, the vast majority of pupils and students don’t have the means to purchase books themselves, and therefore generally have to rely on their local libraries. This is true to an even greater extent for visually impaired pupils and students in these countries. This is FORCE’s target group. Since the number of books adapted to their individual handicap is massively limited and mostly unaffordable, storing the books in libraries or schools for the blind is often the only means of ensuring that this type of student has access to knowledge.

Organisation

Trustees FORCE Foundation UK

Matthijs Balfoort, Director Stichting FORCE

Jenny Craven, Manchester Metropolitan University

Stephen King, Director RNIB

Janice Maskort, Chief Librarian Sheffield City Library

David Owen, Director Share the Vision

Staff

Suzanne Lawson, Secretary (administration and fundraising, salary paid by FORCE Worldwide)

Donations and Grants

FORCE UK would like to thank the following foundations for their support for our projects in 2005:

 And other foundations and individuals who wish to remain anonymous.

Their contributions which totalled £20,000 enabled us to initiate and support the following projects:

Projects

In each of its projects FORCE works together with a local partner organisation in order to respond to local needs and tailor our support to local conditions and the needs of the users. Our focus is on continuity and sustainability. The aim is to help our partner institutions and their blind and visually impaired clients to help themselves. Regular visits as well as telephone and email contact ensure that we are giving our partners the support they require.

Somaliland

During the civil war in the 1990s thousands of people lost their sight or suffered other debilitating injuries, yet there are currently no facilities at all for blind and partially sighted people in this former British colony in the Horn of Africa. In 2005 the FORCE Foundation initiated a two-year project to build, equip and run a Braille production centre in Hargeisa, the capital city of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland. The Braille production centre will be based in an orthopaedic clinic set up by Doses of Hope, a Somaliland NGO and project partner based in Hargeisa. It will be used to produce school books and teaching materials in Braille and large print and also to provide classes in the reading and writing of Braille. Many blind and visually impaired children do not go to school as there are no books available in a format they can read. They face a lifetime of isolation with no chance of getting a job or making a living. Giving them an education will provide them with the skills they need for the future.

 

Ethiopia

In the West we know of Ethiopia mainly through reports relating to war and famine. But there is a further, hidden, tragedy and that is that “the burden of blindness in Sub-Saharan Africa is the greatest of all the other regions of the world” (World Health Organisation 2004. The World Health Organisation estimates that there are more than 1 million visually handicapped people in Ethiopia. Thankfully the economic situation has been relatively stable for a number of years, but the plight of the severely visually impaired remains.                                                                                                   

In 2005 FORCE carried out a project with the Ethiopian Ministry of Justice to set up a Braille production facility to enable blind and visually impaired lawyers to participate on an international law course. By having access to course materials and legal documents in a format they could read these blind and visually impaired students were given the same chances to further their careers and opportunities to succeed as their sighted colleagues.

In addition to producing Braille materials for the law course the facilities and equipment will be used to benefit the wider public and to produce school books for primary and secondary education.

FORCE Worldwide projects

Africa

Niger: Project with the Union Nationale des Aveugles de Niger and the National School for the Blind to build and equip a centre for Braille production. The centre has been constructed and the equipment was installed at the end of 2005. Training of the staff was scheduled for January 2006.

Zimbabwe: Continuation of a project to produce talking books for schools for the blind in Zimbabwe using the DAISY system. In 2004 FORCE raised funds to build and equip two recording studios and in 2005 provided 45 specialised reading machines which will be used for both schools and adult readers.

Ghana: FORCE raised funds to provide the Ghana Society for the Blind and the Cape Coast University with Braille printers.

Mozambique: Force wants to establish a Braille production facility in Beira, Mozambique. Beira is the site of the National Association of the Blind in Mozambique and the only school for the blind in the country.  In 2005 FORCE sent 14 second hand computers to the school. Our aim for 2006 is to raise funds to set up a Braille production centre.

Russia and CIS

Stavropol: FORCE supported a computer workshop for young blind children.

Ukraine: Regional Universal Library in Kherson. FORCE is currently working with the US Embassy in Kiev to provide the library with adapted computers, CCTV and the relevant software to make the library accessible to visually impaired people.

Tula: FORCE supported a Tactile Books workshop. 50 participants enjoyed producing books for visually impaired young children with local materials.

 Asia

Philippines: FORCE was involved in 2 projects in the Philippines in 2005;

1. Workshop on tactile graphics in Manila for participants from Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines.

2. Establishment of a training centre in Davao to provide computer training for visually impaired persons for jobs in call centres. The centre will also be used for Braille production.

Indonesia: Continuation of the three year project focussing on Braille production and the co-operation between Braille producers throughout the country.

Latin America

Santa Cruz, Bolivia: Aprecia in Bolivia is a foundation that provides multiple services for the visually impaired.  In 2004 FORCE secured funds to establish a Braille production centre and provided training on the production of tactile graphics. In March 2005 FORCE organized a Braille production training workshop for staff from15 institutions in Bolivia and Paraguay.

Braille centre in Riberalta, Bolivia: The Beni region in Bolivia is one of the most neglected and impoverished regions of the country. FORCE has set up a Braille production centre in this region with the support of Aprecia in Santa Cruz and the local Special Education Office.

Braille production centre in Encarnación, Paraguay: Encarnación is the capital city of the southern province of Paraguay. The number of visually impaired children in this region is very high. Whilst there is a school for the blind there is a lack of materials for the pupils. Braille production was done manually which is very slow and time-consuming. FORCE has opened a computerised production centre for Braille in the school with the support of the local government and the Regional Education Department. 

Brazil: At the end of November FORCE organised an information accessibility workshop for more than 100 public librarians in Sao Paulo. The librarians learned how to make their libraries more accessible to visually impaired people. The trainers were David Owen, Janice Maskort and Jenny Craven from FORCE UK.