| Light in the darkness |
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A Welsh Bible in Braille means the world to some people, writes Richard Franklin  When Rhian Evans was told she was going blind and that her eyesight would get progressively worse as the years went by, she knew that the day would eventually come when she would no longer be able to read. Then Rhian was in her 30’s and she loved books. She worked as a librarian at Trinity College in Carmarthen in Wales. “It was very sad when I had to give up reading,” Rhian tells me, “but I knew I would reach a crossroads when I would have to leave the job and do some other work.” The road Rhian chose to take was one which has seen her devote her life to helping other blind people. Now at 65 years old, and after years of campaigning, she has finally achieved her ambition to get the Welsh Bible published in Braille format. A special service was held last month to launch the Welsh Testament and Psalms in Braille, in the Chapel at the college where Rhian worked as a librarian. “My dream has come true. It’s a wonderful feeling,” she says. “Now I have a direct line to God. I am in a minority of people who need this Bible, but it should be available. It’s a human right and it’s the best book you can read.” It was in the 1990’s, while Rhian was working to revise the code used for Welsh Braille and putting together a library of Welsh books in Braille, that she became certain there should be a Braille Welsh Bible. Trying to raise the funds to turn the dream into a reality wasn’t easy until Bible Society and a group of churches agreed to give some funding for the project. This gave the appeal the kick start it needed. Appeal Committee Secretary Alun Lenny, who worked with Rhian on the project, says: “The response was truly fantastic. Following a substantial contribution of £5,000 by Bible Society and funding by a number of religious denominations, money then poured in from chapels and churches, schools and individuals. Some £15,000 was raised in less than four months, enabling the work to be given the go-ahead.” In all, £25,000 had to be raised to develop the Bible and to pay for printing, which was coordinated by the Royal National Institute for the Blind. In the end the whole project was completed in just six months. Speaking at the launch Dr Watcyn James, Bible Society’s Welsh Development Officer, who also helped to coordinate the project, said, “Of all the languages of the world only forty, or so, have the Bible available in Braille. Now, at last, blind Welsh-speaking people can read the Word of God, in their heart language.” So the Bible is completed, but the work goes on. Rhian is busy visiting schools sharing her story and telling children and students about the new Bible. She says, “I tell them about a Welsh hymn that has inspired me. It says that it’s, perhaps, the storms in life that bring you the best things in life. “For me blindness is not darkness because in it there is great light. God’s light penetrates the darkness and Christ is always with you to help in the darkness.” Now, through Rhian’s inspiration, future generations will be able to read all about this God of light in the Welsh Braille Testament and Psalms. |
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