A blind Dunedin woman battled a strong southerly wind and hail to pay homage to her hero yesterday.
‘‘It’s time to hail the Braille,’’ Blind Foundation ambassador Julie Woods said.
The foundation marked the anniversary of Louis Braille’s birth 208 years ago yesterday by inviting people to build sandcastles spelling out ‘‘HBLB’’ — ‘‘Happy Birthday Louis Braille’’ — in Braille on New Zealand beaches.
Mrs Woods, who has been totally blind since 2008, created the Braille message at Middle Beach.
Mrs Woods said that Braille was a ‘‘vital education and literacy tool’’ for blind people and increased work opportunities.
International research showed 80% of blind people in full-time employment read Braille, Mrs Woods said.
‘‘Braille allows us to read the same things as everyone else. Through Braille we can get an education, get a job, get our independence.’’
The castle-building yesterday reminded people Braille was ‘‘still alive and kicking and the primary literacy tool for blind people’’.
Mrs Woods’ husband, Ron Esplin, was at yesterday’s celebration for the Frenchman who invented the system of writing for the blind in 1824, aged 15.
‘‘He opened the doors of knowledge to all those who cannot see,’’ he said.
The two others people building braille castles on the beach yesterday were Claire Porima, of Dunedin, and Margaret Jackson-Flavall, of Mosgiel.
Mrs Jackson-Flavell, a Blind Foundation volunteer, said neither rain, hail nor shine could have stopped her building the sandcastles on the nearly deserted beach yesterday.
‘‘I made a promise,’’ Mrs Jackson-Flavell said
Mrs Woods said her ‘‘good friends’’ had ‘‘gone straight to the top of my Christmas card list’’ after battling the weather yesterday.
