'Blindsight' documentary about Himalayan climbing challenge by children who are visually impaired makes Dubai debut

Notes and media contacts

About Blindsight:
Sabriye Tenberken, Paul Kronenberg and 6 of their blind students joined world class blind mountain climber, Erik Weihenmayer, in an attempt to summit Lhakpa Ri, the 23,000 foot peak which rises spectacularly beside Mount Everest. The resulting breathtaking 3-week journey is beyond anything any of them could have predicted.

About Braille Without Borders:
Braille without Borders was founded by Sabriye Tenberken and Paul Kronenberg. Sabriye, 2006 Mother Theresa Award Winner and 2005 Nobel Peace Prize nominee, became fascinated with the study of Tibetan culture as a young blind German woman and created the first Braille text for the Tibetan language. She travelled alone to Tibet and into the frozen Himalayas to find blind children, considered demonic by their culture. To provide a better future for these blind children, Sabriye and Paul established a preparatory school, a medical massage training centre, a vocational training farm, a Braille printing press and a self-integration project in Tibet.

The organisation Braille Without Borders is also setting up the International Institute for Social Entrepreneurs in Kerala, India. Construction is still going on, but it is coming closer to the finalisation stage. In this centre they will mainly train blind and visually impaired visionaries from all over the world in everything they need to know so they will be able to start up their own social projects in their own countries with the Braille without Borders concept. The entire campus is being built in an ecofriendly style and it will serve as an example for other similar projects.

About Foresight:
Until recently untreatable, new progress in research means that cures for hereditary retinal diseases will be found. Our aim is to accelerate finding cures for retinal diseases such as Retinitis Pigmentosa. For some forms of retinal disease a cure will be found within 10 years and it is likely that children will be the first to benefit.

We also work in the community to improve the lives of people who are losing their sight in the U.A.E, such as providing a regular support group and mobility training.

Foresight is a U.A.E-based non-profit making organisation and a branch of Tamkeen. We are an associate member of Retina International (which coordinates major retinal research internationally).

For further information, kindly contact:
Sally Prosser
Foresight - Communications Manager
T +9714 3643703
F +9714 3643705