Blind people can’t handle money, explained the bank manager refusing to let young Rajab Mpilipili open an account. Rajab advocated for himself but the manager would not budge. So the bank lost money, and the determined young student hung on to his.
Savor the irony of a bank turning down money. Because of ableism, companies like this one are missing out on the $13 trillion global disability market.
Rajab’s friends encouraged him to try again, this time at a different branch. Bolstered by allies and more years of advocacy experience, Rajab showed another skeptical manager how he navigates websites using screenreading software called NVDA that reads out loud everything on his laptop. Listening through headphones he can check his balance or pay bills privately and independently. The manager hesitated, so Rajab continued. His smartphone’s screenreading software allows him to use accessible apps, including apps that will identify paper bills. The manager finally agreed, and the bank gained a great customer.
Now Rajab works to remove barriers for blind and other disabled people. Rajab graduated from the University of Dar es Salaam and founded Youth with Disabilities Organization. He teaches financial and digital literacy to disabled youth in Tanzania, while also advocating for institutions to become more accessible. He earned a coveted fellowship with Disability Rights California, and I had the honor of meeting him during his trip to the US.
A new hotel in France celebrates innovators, including Louis Braille! His bust appears in the lobby among other great innovators. The Ki Space Hotel & Spa, located near Mr. Braille’s hometown of Coupvray just outside Paris, also generously served as a sponsor for the Braille Bicentennial. How thrilling and uplifting to find a French hotel commemorating Louis Braille!
Louis Braille was a musician, teacher, and inventor of the tactile reading system named after him. Braille is critical to the education of blind and Deafblind children, but organizations around the world have been cutting Braille training. Please urge your local organizations to continue supporting Braille.
Taste a rare French wine crafted by the blind community
Raise a glass to Braille! The only blindness organization with its own winery in France, Voir Ensemble crafted this red Bordeaux for the Braille Bicentennial. Quantities are limited, but the price is affordable at six bottles for €8. Secure yours today and join the global toast to Braille!
Order Here. Note: When creating an account to make your order, there is a text-based captcha that asks you to enter a specific letter from a word. If you’re using auto-translation services, temporarily turn them off at this point, or the word will be changed.
Descriptive Transcript
Beneath the canopy of an outdoor tent, Haben Girma gestures to the table beside her as she speaks with an American accent.
Haben: For those of you who love wine tasting, there’s an idea for blind tasting: for wine that’s actually made by the blind community.
Standing behind the table, Camille Owens–Poussou smiles while holding a dark-colored bottle. She speaks with a French accent.
Camille: The wine of our association Voir Ensemble, in the Domaine du Puch.
The video pans across a close-up image of the table in front of Camille. A box holds six bottles with labels that have tactile Braille as well as print. The print says: Domaine du Puch, Hommage á Louis Braille, Bordeaux. Every bottle has a different image. From left to right the images show: a woman reading Braille with one hand while holding a cello with the other, a man sitting with a glass of wine, silverware, and a plate with dots, a woman wearing a red dress, sunglasses, and holding a cane, a woman walking with a golden retriever guide dog, a man putting on a tie, and lastly a tiny dog hanging out with a German Shepherd wearing a harness while a speech bubble above has visual Braille.
Camille (voiceover): It’s a red wine from Bourdeaux. It’s made with our workers with visual and other disabilities.
The video switches to Haben.
Haben: These six bottles were made in honor of the Braille Bicentennial. They have Braille on the bottles.
The camera returns to Camille holding a bottle.
Camille: So this is a wine called Hommage à Louis Braille. It’s been created for the bicentennial of the creation of Braille. It’s a 2022 vintage with a taste of very fruity red fruit. It’s light because we don’t put the wine in oak. And it’s a perfect wine for apertif or cheese.
In France, Braille may refer to the tactile reading system, the surname of its inventor, or the call of a strange and gorgeous bird!
Thank you to artist and teacher Gabrielle Sauvillers and the Collège André Malraux in Amboise for expanding my understanding of Braille during my visit to France for the Braille Bicentennial. #BrailleFestival #Braille200
Descriptive Transcript
In the foreground, Haben Girma speaks with a mic clipped to her coat. She’s a woman with dancing hazel eyes, medium dark skin, long black hair, and an American accent. Behind her, a line of trees frame the Eiffel Tower rising into the cloudy sky.
Haben: Bonjour, everyone! We are here for French, Braille, and a pun. In France, Braille is pronounced Braille. It carries the sound of the eye.
She points to her right eye.
Haben: Br-eye.
Inside a classroom, Haben sits at a table reading a card in Braille. She sounds utterly amazed by what she is reading.
Haben: A peacock’s feather. Because a peacock lives in our school.
She stops reading and smiles around the room.
Haben: Wow!
(Laughter erupts around the room.)
The video cuts to Haben in front of the tower.
Haben: Braille has multiple meanings. One meaning is the tactile reading system used by blind people all over the world. But another meaning is one I learned in Amboise.
Photo: A brilliant peacock, mostly blue and green, balances on one leg on a grassy field beside a lake.
Haben (voiceover): Braille means a harsh cry.
(Peacock shrieks).
Standing in a park, Haben reads Braille on a large sign slanted for comfortable Braille reading.
Haben (voiceover): The inscription for this fountain, in print and in Braille, salutes the genius, the odd ones, and the spitters!
Frogs, turtles, and other creatures in a surrealist style spray water around a circular basin. A humanoid bird figure stands in the center of the fountain.
The scene changes to Haben speaking by the tower.
Haben: Reading the Braille, I could only understand a few of the French words. It’s okay to be brilliant in one area and a beginner in the other area. We’re all both!
Blind Heroes & Breton Butter: Finding Braille in Saint-Malo
Reading Braille out loud over the radio, a young blind woman assists the Allies in the Netflix series “All the Light We Cannot See.” The show inspired me to visit Saint-Malo on my journey through France for the Braille Bicentennial. The tourist office offers large print and Braille brochures, videos with French Sign Language, wheelchairs optimized for cobblestones, and a tactile map with a Braille key. Tactile maps are still rare, and I hope more cities take action to welcome people with disabilities.
Thank you to Laurence Maillard Nourrissier, accessibility coordinator for the Saint-Malo tourist office, for thoughtfully creating an “All the Light We Cannot See” tour of Saint-Malo! I also want to thank Joël Hardy, Christine Hardy, and Sylvie Thézé from the Braille Bicentennial team for their incredible Breton hospitality.
Descriptive Transcript
Standing outside with her hair swaying in the wind, Haben Girma speaks with enthusiasm, a microphone clipped to her gray coat. Below her stretches a road with cars and pedestrians, and in the distance appears a granite fortress on an island surrounded by the emerald La Manche, also called the English Channel.
Haben: Blind women rarely appear as the heroes in books and movies, which is why I was really charmed by “All the Light we Cannot See”—a book and a Netflix series. There is a blind woman who uses her voice and reads Braille to help the Allies during World War II. It’s a fictional story, but it’s actually inspired by many true stories.
Photo: Haben, her Seeing Eye dog Mylo, and Laurence stand on a balcony with the granite, fortress-style Château de Saint-Malo in the distance, surrounded by gardens and thick, granite walls.
Photo: Christine, Haben, Mylo, Sylvie, and Joël stand together smiling on the same balcony.
Video: Haben and Mylo walk along the ramparts above the old city. She has a brace on her left ankle. The ground has large, fitted granite slabs that are relatively smooth. Openings along the wall show glimpses of the Ferris wheel and boats below.
Haben (voiceover): The key scenes take place in Saint-Malo, a French city known for dramatic history, emerald beaches and the most delicious butter I’ve ever tasted!
Photo: A rectangular tray has a knife and eight cubes of butter in a variety of colors, from purple to pink.
Video: Haben sits at a table with a large paper, tactile map that includes Braille.
Haben: There’s a tactile map of Saint-Malo here. And many of the symbols on the map are almost universal, like a common understood texture for water, a tactile star to say you are here.
The video returns to the first scene.
Haben: I recently read the book called “And There Was Light.” Notice the similarities in titles? They are connected!
Photo: The book cover shows the profile of a young man with his hair in a side part pompadour, and the background rises from yellow to orange. The text reads, “And There was Light: Autobiography of Jacques Lusseyran, Blind Hero of the French Resistance.”
Haben (voiceover): A resistance leader and Braille reader, Jacques Lusseyran helped liberate France from Nazi occupation.
The video returns to the first scene.
Haben: People assumed because he was blind that he wouldn’t be able to participate. But we all have a voice. We all can advocate.
A community of blind and sighted members, Voir Ensemble is an organization working to increase opportunities for blind people throughout France and francophone Africa. I had the honor of meeting with them in their Paris office, discussing disability rights in the U.S. and France. A core tenet here is l’autonomie, which roughly translates to self-determination. It’s about having the right to make your own decisions, the tools to pursue your goals, and the freedom to live in your chosen communities. Voir Ensemble doesn’t just talk about l’autonomie—they practice it. Inside their conference room, the multiple plates of scrumptious pastries had Braille labels. Increasing Braille is just one of many ways for us to remove barriers, and I’m grateful for all the advocates moving us toward a world where disabled people fully enjoy l’autonomie.
Having a seat at the table doesn’t always mean being included. Deaf and Deafblind people often face dinner table syndrome — missing out because communication barriers build walls. Watch Haben Girma and Rachel Kolb break it down and share solutions. How do YOU stay connected?
Descriptive Transcript
Haben Girma, a woman in her thirties with medium dark skin, long black hair, and dancing hazel eyes speaks to the camera. She has a mic clipped to a teal top, and behind her is a blue wall.
Haben: Sometimes around the dinner table I feel stressed. It’s a paradoxical feeling of being present, but because of communication barriers, feeling like you’re not actually there because you’re missing out on so much information. This is an experience a lot of Deaf and Deafblind people have gone through, and there’s a name for it.
Rachel Kolb, a white woman in her thirties with blonde hair and a light blue top, signs to the camera in American Sign Language. She is standing in front of a light wooden cabinet. A voiceover of Rachel speaking English plays as she signs.
Rachel: Yes, Deaf people like me often call that feeling “dinner table syndrome.” In my new book, Articulate, I tell one story about how I experienced dinner table syndrome during my 19th birthday. That was my first year of college. I went out to dinner to celebrate with a group of hearing people from my dorm. Almost no one knew how to sign. When I showed up, I knew they’d come to celebrate me. None of them wanted to exclude me. But still, I sat there and watched their conversation flying, back and forth, their laughter swirling around the table. I couldn’t keep up. It felt terrible.
Haben: As a Deafblind person, I’ve experienced dinner table syndrome among hearing people and among Deaf people. Dinner table syndrome is a mismatch between the group communications and the communication needs of the individual person. Every Deaf and Deafblind person is different. Some sign, some voice, some like me use Braille.
So what we need is to first identify what’s happening. Naming it allows us to reclaim our place at the table by coming up with strategies, both for Deaf people and for hearing people, because it’s a team effort to feel fully present at a table.
Rachel: For me, signing is the most effective dinner table syndrome prevention strategy. I encourage my friends to learn ASL, or I think about my other access options, such as interpreting services. When I go to participate in a mixed group and there isn’t an interpreter, I think about how to keep the group small. I often prefer one-on-one conversations best. I ask my hearing friends to please look at me, or speak clearly, or be more expressive, or use a little bit of sign or gesture or pointing, or we can write things down, or text, or generally be more…
Rachel pulls out a copy of her book and shows it to the camera. The title ARTICULATE: A DEAF MEMOIR OF VOICE is on the cover, the letters of “Articulate” assembling gradually across the page, bold pink and purple swirls in the background.
Rachel: Articulate.
Rachel points to the title of her book and grins.
Rachel: What strategies do you use to feel more connected with other people? You can comment below.
Don't Miss the Braille Bicentennial in Coupvray, France!
Join us in celebrating 200 years of Braille at the Coupvray castle park on September 20, 2025. Visit Coupvray’s website for more information about the Braille Bicentennial.
Descriptive Transcript
Haben Girma, a woman in her thirties with medium dark skin, long black hair, and dancing hazel eyes speaks to the camera. She has a mic clipped to a teal top, and behind her is a blue wall.
Haben: Braille has a bicentennial coming up!
Photo: Haben’s fingers glide over a light-colored paper covered in dots.
Haben: Some people say Braille is old-fashioned, but you can tell them ink has been around for thousands of years; and last I checked sighted people are still writing with ink.
Braille is only 200 years young, and blind people all over the world—lawyers, programmers, teachers—continue to use Braille to access knowledge.
Photo: A tactile model of the Sydney Opera House has Braille on all four sides.
Haben: A lot of people ask me, “How did you go through Harvard Law School as a Deafblind person?” Braille!
The video zooms in on dots rapidly rising and falling on a Braille display.
Haben: It’s not the only thing, but it made a huge difference to let me have access to textbooks, exams, and conversations. Huge gratitude goes out to the teacher who invented Braille, Louis Braille.
Photo: A portrait of a man with light skin, short reddish-brown wavy hair, and a serene expression with his eyes closed. He wears a dark, formal coat over a high-collared top with buttons down the front.
Haben: So it’s named after him and he was born in Coupvray, France. It’s just outside of Paris and the celebration is gonna be there at his hometown. It’s September 20, 2025. It’s free and open to all. There will be accessible games, art, music. There will be educational panels. Help share the word.
Photo: Haben stretches a hand toward the top of a detailed, metal model of the Eiffel Tower rising about four feet high above a museum table.
Haben: I’m going to be there and I hope you will be, too.
Join us in celebrating 200 years of Braille! When Louis Braille became blind in 1812, schools lacked an effective way to teach reading and writing to blind students. After extensive experimentation, he developed the tactile reading system named after him. Today, countless blind people all over the world study textbooks, read recipes, and write computer code in Braille.
Louis Braille grew up in Coupvray, a town near Paris, which will host the Braille Bicentennial Celebration on September 20, 2025. The program will include accessible games, art, educational panels, and will bring together French officials, international guests, educators, writers, and athletes. We are especially honored that American author Haben Girma, the first Deafblind graduate of Harvard Law School, is a featured speaker.
The event is free, so share the flyer to help spread the word.
Do you know a disabled job seeker? Tell them about Making Space, an organization connecting disabled people with employers vetted for accessibility. Joining and taking their training courses is free for job seekers. Founders Keely Cat-Wells and Sophie Morgan, both disabled women tired of workplace discrimination, joined forces to smash systemic barriers. I finally had the honor of meeting Keely at a wonderful Making Space event!
