LIFE & CULTURE
Left: Abdin plays blind soccer,
which he took up at university.
He met FUKUCHI Kentaro,
with whom he started up the NPO,
through the sport. H. WANIBE/JBFA
Right: Abdin participating in a
meeting in his office at Santen
Pharmaceutical. Santen has a clear
vision to realize an inclusive
society in which people with andwithout visual impairment playequal roles.

Mohamed Omer Abdin notes thatJapanese cities have extensive
mass-transit systems and tactile paving iswidespread. Furthermore, orientationand mobility training, including
walking with a white cane, is widely
available. The existence of appropriate
facilities and assistance for the visually
impaired in Japan was life-changing for
him after leaving Sudan.

THEFREEDOMOFREADINGA VISUALLY IMPAIRED MAN

To defend the right to education for visually impaired
children in Sudan, Abdin works through an NPO thatprovides braille textbooks. The man reading a braille textbook
in the photo is CAPEDS Board Member Murtada Eljailani.

GAINED IN JAPAN

Leveraging experience gained from living in Japan, a visually
impaired man from Sudan has been working energetically tohelp those similarly impaired. What is the “freedom ofreading” for him? Discover how he has been endeavoring toshare that freedom with his fellow Sudanese back home.
“Visual impairment equates toinformation impairment. To be
active members of society, thevisually impaired need information
to be accessible.” This idea has driven
a Sudanese man in Japan to support
those afflicted in this way. Hisname is Mohamed Omer Abdin.
He is almost completely blind.

JAPANSUDAN

How did Abdin become involvedin those support activities in aforeign land so far from home? Tounderstand this, we need to know
something about the “freedom ofreading” he obtained in Japan.
In Sudan, where Abdin lived
until 1998, braille and schools
for the blind were few and far

between. Therefore, he had tostudy by having his classmates
read his textbooks out loud tohim. Even after admission to arenowned university, the lack ofinformation accessibility within
the learning environment andclosure of the university due
to the deteriorating politicalsituation in his own country madeAbdin uncomfortable at times. It
was then that he discovered that
the International Association for
the Visually Impaired, locatedin Japan, was recruiting blind
students to study in the country.
“Japan seems to have anappropriate learning environment
for the visually impaired,” thought
Abdin, and leapt at the chance.
Upon arrival in Japan, Abdin
found a wealth of books inbraille and works of literature asaudiobooks that he could borrowfrom the library. This environment
allowed him to immerse himself
in reading—something that had
previously been all but impossible
for him. Once Abdin learned how
to use narration software on acomputer, his horizons expanded
further still. He no longer neededsomeone to read aloud to him,making this a revolutionary eventin his life. This is how he gained
the “freedom of reading.”“How might my life have beendifferent if I’d known braille andhow to use a computer during
my schooldays?” Abdin cameto wonder what he could do forother visually impaired people
back in Sudan, so consequently,in 2008, he and his companionsin Japan started up an NPO, theCommittee for Assisting andPromoting Education for theDisabled in Sudan (CAPEDS).
The NPO has been carrying out
a variety of activities in Sudan,
including installing braille printersand providing braille and computer
lessons. These activities have madebraille textbooks, which previously
could not be produced, available inlocal Sudanese communities. Oneof the computer-lesson students,
Musharraf Omer, went on tobecome a computer programmer
and develop Bookworm, ascreen reader software for thevisually impaired. In addition toproviding narration for websites
and documents in various formats,
Bookworm comes with many
convenient features such as
bookmarks and notes but is simple
and accessible. Seeing potential inBookworm, CAPEDS provides
support for the software, expecting
it to enrich the lives of visually
impaired readers around the world.
Since 2020, Abdin has also
been involved in a CSR projectat a Japanese company, Santen
MOHAMED OMER ABDIN
Born in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital,
in 1978. Currently works for Santen
Pharmaceutical, heads the Committee for
Assisting and Promoting Education for
the Disabled in Sudan (CAPEDS),
conducts research on African politics, andwrites essays.

Pharmaceutical, which specializes
in ophthalmic treatment, tosupport the visually impaired inJapan. The project holds job-searchseminars for the visually impaired
and supports startups to create
services tailored to their needs.
“Japan has accumulated a great
deal of knowledge concerning
how to assist the disabled. The
reason I am in this country is tospread that knowledge to every
corner of the world. I wish to help
connect Japan and Sudan. At thesame time, I want to contributeto the acquisition of the right tostudy and work for the visually
impaired in Sudan and beyond.”
Abdin is taking on challenges tohelp the world’s visually impaired
obtain the “freedom of reading”
and create a future where they canfully participate in society.