Audio book project brings joy of reading to Egypt's visually impaired
The volunteer-run project Al-Kutub produces audio books for visually impaired readers, an extremely underserved demographic in Egypt.
Abla Adel, a 25-year-old Egyptian with impaired vision, likes to spend her weekends reading.
On a sofa in her bedroom, she uses her laptop to access a SoundCloud channel called Al-Kutub (Arabic for "books"), where she finds dozens of audio books. Adel puts her headphones on and starts listening to her beloved novels.
“I search among different kinds of books and select what I want," Adel told Al-Monitor. "The voice is clear and I have a wonderful time listening to the books,” she added. Her laptop displayed the title of the Arabic-language novel "Wounded Laugh" by Egyptian satirist Belal Fadl.
Al-Kutub produces audio books for visually impaired readers. Founded in the Egyptian capital two years ago, the project is run by volunteers of all ages. When Adel learned about it from her friends, she was delighted.
