Enid sets her sights high

Enid Milton is a WN subscriber in Namibia (on the Atlantic coast of Southern Africa). She has been writing short stories and poetry for several years, aimed predominantly at children nine-twelve years old. She had little success getting her work published until just recently with a new project that has given her ‘the greatest satisfaction she has ever known.’

The project is a collection of her stories and poems that has been translated into Braille to be used to teach English to children in schools for the visually impaired.

Facilities for the blind are severely lacking in Namibia, where previously there was just one dedicated school in the whole country which catered for both deaf and blind. Now there are two, which is a mild improvement. Further difficulty stems from the fact that English has been made the country's official language, despite few children speaking it at home.

As such they need all the resources they can get and Enid has been told that her stories are the first to be converted to braille.

‘The teachers are quite sure the children will enjoy having stories,’ she says, ‘even if it does involve learning English grammar and vocabulary!

‘I certainly hope they will derive some enjoyment from the book, and that other people will also submit their stories and have them translated in Braille – there is a great need.’