Xizang: Nyima Phuntsok, a blind programmer in the Xizang Autonomous Region, has been translating applications and browser languages to serve the blind group for years, Xizang Daily reported.
Nyima Phuntsok from Sakya District, Shigatse. At the age of four, he was taken to the Lhasa Special Education School in Lhasa, the regional capital, to learn Braille for eight years. There he learned three types of Braille: Tibetan, Chinese, and English.
At a recent book fair in Lhasa, Nyima Phuntsok set up a stand for non-visual creations.
Visitors were surprised to learn that he was the first blind programmer in the area.
In 2019, he entered Lhasa Normal College, where he majored in elementary education.
According to Xizang Daily, Nyima Phuntsok said: “First, the text must be translated into Braille, then the meaning must be learned based on Braille. The time for blind people to learn text is several times longer than normal people.”
For this reason, after graduating from college, he started developing software to serve the blind through a self-taught programming course and did a braille translation job.
In October 2019, Nyima Phuntsok and three classmates, also visually impaired, founded Xizang Visual Non-Creative Culture Technology Co. Ltd. The company offers software, audio books and radio drama recordings, music production, blind massage and other services.
By developing software, he hopes that groups with low vision can save time translating simple text while reading, improving learning and reading efficiency.
In the last two years, he led his team and translated more than 130 Tibetan books into Braille. This includes all Tibetan language textbooks from elementary to high school and Tibetan language books such as Gyushi or Four Medicine Tantra and Mirror of Tibetan History.
Visually impaired programmer revolutionizes braille translation
