Sporsho Foundation (Bengali: স্পর্শ ব্রেইল প্রকাশনা, lit. 'Touch Braille Publishing') is a Bangladeshi specialty publisher of braille books. It distributes its books free of charge to the visually impaired.
The company was founded in 2008[1] by children's author Nazia Jabeen, who was inspired by a close relative's vision loss in a road traffic accident.[2][3] The first book published by Sporsho, in 2009, was Jabeen's own Chharar Tale Monta Dole.[4] Initially unable to secure the services of any of the few braille presses in Bangladesh, the first print run was 26 copies hand-typed on a braille typewriter. They were distributed to schools in twos and threes.[3]
The publisher had a booth at the Ekushey Book Fair, the pre-eminent book event in Bangladesh, for the first time in 2011,[2] and has become a regular fixture there.[5] Visually impaired visitors are allowed to read at the stall all day, and in exchange for registration are later given free books.[4] Books are also donated to schools and libraries.[5]
As of 2018, Sporsho had published 61 titles in braille.[2] Their output has included popular fiction by Humayun Ahmed, Muhammed Zafar Iqbal, and Imdadul Haq Milan; children's literature by Lutfor Rahman Riton; poetry by Syed Shamsul Haque; and one title per year on the history of the Bangladesh Liberation War by such authors as Mafidul Haque and Nilima Ibrahim.[2][3][6] Sporsho published Margaret Davidson's 1971 biography Louis Braille in 2019, the first English-language braille book, other than textbooks, published in Bangladesh.[3]
Jabeen received the "Inspiring Women Spirit" award in 2019 from Women in Leadership for her contributions benefiting the visually challenged.[7]
References edit
- ^ "Sporsho launches 14 Braille books". The Daily Star. 7 January 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Sporsho's Journey of Conquering Vision". The Daily Star. 12 January 2018.
- ^ a b c d দৃষ্টিজয়ীদের বন্ধু নাজিয়া [Eyesight Friend Nazia]. Kaler Kantho (in Bengali). 8 March 2019.
- ^ a b "Blind boy travels from Narayanganj daily to read braille books". Dhaka Tribune. 6 February 2019.
- ^ a b "First ever Braille books at SUST Central Library" (PDF). The Librarian Times. Vol. 3, no. 7. Dhaka. 18 March 2018.
- ^ মনের আলোয় বই পড়েন তারা [They read the book in the light of the mind]. Risingbd.com (in Bengali). 5 February 2013.
- ^ "Women's contribution to social progress recognised". The Daily Star. 10 March 2019.