Blind SA captures Braille’s rich history at new museum
The newly unveiled Alrode museum, which will be accessible to the greater Alberton community and surrounding areas, will provide rich information for the sighted and unsighted.
Alrode’s Blind SA is pleased to announce its groundbreaking achievement of having preserved the heritage of Braille in the country by unveiling its first-ever Braille museum.
The Antonnette Botha Braille Museum is officially open to the public to experience the rich historic culture of Braille. The fine museum consists of different writing mediums and devices dating back centuries.
The inaugural unveiling was also in celebration of the late Botha’s birthday as she was born on November 29, 1933.
The momentous occasion also saw the attendance of dignitaries from Member of Parliament, MMC Jennifer Glover to Botha’s nephew and Dr Leon Steenkamp among others.
The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture assured that a budget was in place, earmarked to look out for the interests of the museum.
Rich history on Antonnette Botha
Botha had the most profound knowledge of Braille codes used in South Africa.
She played an essential role in the field of Braille in the country. She started her career as a music teacher in 1957. However, her interest in the development of Braille led her to develop an Afrikaans code for Braille known as snelskrif.
In 1991, Botha became a member of the Braille authority and quickly went up the ranks to serve as chairperson from 1995 until 2007. It was during this time that she played a leading role in the development and improvement of Braille internationally.
Botha also served on several committees of the International Council on English Braille (ICEB).
Blind SA honoured her with a medal of honour and citation in 1990 and 2013 respectively. In 1997, she was made a fellow of the Braille Research Centre in Baltimore, USA.
