This is my first post in 2015 and hello, it's April. I've been too busy/lazy (dunno which one is right lol) to post anything since the new year began, but... here's a story.
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| Committees and partnerships |
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| The event logo |
Some friends of mine shared the information about this event weeks before on LINE and Facebook. They were searching for 1000 volunteers to participate and the registration was free. Typing has never been a problem for me, in fact I do quite like to type. I saw it as a good chance to put my 'hobby' into a good use. My mom encouraged me to participate since she heard that it had something to do with Tzu Chi Foundation. She likes to watch DAAI TV which is owned by Tzu Chi Foundation and said that the foundation had done good things and that I should join them (if I could). So, there I was...
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| Tzu Chi Foundation at PIK, Fourth Floor Hall - and that's my stamped hand! :) |
The place is huge - almost looks like a castle to me. No need to mention, the inside is also amazing. There were 800+ volunteers along with the committees and other people. We were told to take off our shoes and put them in a bag - that's how they keep the place clean, I suppose. I went to the re-registration post once I got there and had my hand stamped. They also gave me a code - I7 Green, which meant that my seat was I7 in the green block. They had us typing in a big hall at the fourth floor.
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| The opening performances : Chinese Dancing with the fancy fans, musical performances by the blind, and hand gestures performance |
As usual, they opened the event with some speeches then continued with some performances. There were some kind of Chinese Dancing, motivational videos, and musical performances by some blind yet very talented people from a certain foundation. The videos told us about blind people who, in spite of their limitation, were very enthusiastic to read. Tzu Chi representatives also did a splendid hand gesture performance at the opening.
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| My first set! Supernova : Akar (page 76 - 91) |
After that, we began our typing session. Every one was given approximately 15 pages of a book to re-type in about 4 hours. I was given page 76 - 91 from the novel "Supernova : Akar" by Dee and finished typing in about an hour. We had lunch at the basement at half past one then went back to the typing session afterwards. After I submitted my work, unexpectedly the committee gave me another set to type. My second set was from cover to page 9 of the novel "Madre", also by Dee. After the typing session ended, a Tzu Chi representatives gave a brief explanation about Tzu Chi and offered us to join their upcoming events.
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| Here's a sneak peak of what I re-typed :) |
What deeply touched me was when they played the videos and when the blind people performed on the stage. Most people would feel embarrassed having such limitation and end up shutting themselves down. They would most likely feel unlucky and try to blame their fate. But that doesn't happen to these people. They are high-spirited people have their own bright thoughts about their future. Their limitation is not a reason for them to be different from other normal people. They have "hope" and believe that if they fight hard enough, they will be able to achieve their dreams.
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| My second set! Madre (cover to page 9) and it's written I6 for my seat because I got it mixed up with my partner hehe |
Most of us will think that reading was quite a challenge for the blind - even though there's what we call braille codes to help them read. Nevertheless, these people, knowing how difficult it is to read, still have the will to read. In their opinion, reading can enrich their knowledge and at some times can give them pleasure. However, the number of books available in braille codes is still limited. Seeing how enthusiastic they are to read makes me feel that joining this event is the right thing to do. Even if it seems so simple to us but I am content to know that our little help may support them to achieve their dreams.
The world keeps changing as new technology is invented everyday. We can easily see everyone busy with their gadgets which brings positive and negative effects at once. But I can tell that nowadays people become more reluctant to read books as they would rather to use their gadgets to search for information (thanks to the internet! everything seems so easy, in an instant just click click and there you go, the information you need) than to manually read the books. Well, I grew up reading a lot of books and I have always enjoyed my time to read books. I can't say that by reading books we can always find what we need, but there's always something else you discover and maybe, maybe not, it will be of any use someday. I believe that reading is not a wasting-your-time-activity and the habit should still be taught to the children these days. They say "The book is the window of the world" and I totally agree with them.
So, I would like to encourage people who have limitations, especially for the blind, that they should not give up on their dreams. "Where there is a will, there's a way", wise men say. The road may be a little bit tougher for you than other normal people, but that doesn't mean you don't have the same chance to achieve your dreams. And for the social activists for the blind, you are very wonderful people and should be proud for what you do. Even if you think that what you do is just a simple thing, but you will never know that your 'simple thing' may have a great effect for other people. I also want to say thank you for the committees for bringing this event and GOOD JOB, people! I am looking forward for the next event :)
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