OREANDA-NEWS. Just as many times before, ITERA gave out special books to child-care centers within the frameworks of the Assistance to Blind and Partially Sighted Children Programs on March 26 and 28, 2013.

This year, child organizations of Kamensk-Uralski and Yekaterinburg received books on March 26 (the Sverdlovsk Region), as well as Krasnogorsk on March 28 (the Moscow Region). It was for the fourth time that this action was implemented in the Sverdlovsk Region with the involvement of CJSC Uralsevergaz, an ITERA affiliate company. Illustrated Books for Small Blind Children Fund publishes unique books and acts as ITERA’s partner at implementing those actions.

Radically innovative sets of books, such as Tactile "speaking alphabet" with Entertaining Tasks and Speaking Pencil, an electronic device, intended for partially sighted and blind children (the sets of books include books’ supplements in Braille alphabet) were passed over to child-care centers.

Those books, just like all previous books, make allowance for features of perception by visually impaired children. They contain bright and contrast drawings, large illustrations with accurate contours and texts in large print, moving elements and multilayer application work.

The basic peculiarity of a new set of books is a Magic Pencil, a device capable of reproducing audio-files by way of reading micro-codes printed on books’ pages. Tipping pages of a book with the Magic Pencil a child may hear pronunciation of letters of alphabet, poems, names of fantastic heroes and music that accompanies them.

The alphabet acquaints children not only with letters of the alphabet, but also with heroes of various fairy tales, both folktales, and those written by authors, such as Know Nothing (Neznaika), Snow White, Ivan-czarevitch etc. In addition to literary heroes, tactile fabrics are attributed to each letter: Denmark satin for A, silk velvet for B, velvet for V etc. The new edition of books allows for stimulating residual sight of partially sighted children, developing their sense of touch. What’s more important, it allows for integration of preschool-age children with sight problems into the educational system and social life.

ITERA has been supporting The Illustrated Books for Small Blind Children for 14 years. It had carried out over 20 actions of the kind in regions where it is operating. Those regions include Moscow and the Moscow Region, the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, the Sverdlovsk Region, Kalmykia, the Krasnodar Territory, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan.

For its contribution into this work ITERA was repeatedly awarded UNESCO Gold Certificates and Gold medals.