Tape Aids for the Blind recently hosted a
luncheon for their volunteers in which the organisation paid tribute to the
many people who gave up their time to read or edit books on tape.
Among those honoured was artSMart editor,
Caroline Smart for “43 years outstanding dedicating transforming the silent page
to the spoken word.” She has read over 70 books, mainly novels and those
requiring a versatile acting ability.
Honoured alongside Smart were playwright
Patrick Coyne, for being the longest-serving reader and Tim Dodson for his major
input in editing the recordings and correcting pronunciation.
Smart and Coyne will have recording studios
named after them while the editing suite will be named after Dodson.
The history of Tape Aids for the Blind began
in 1958 when Jannie Venter, a young South African Railways clerk, visited a
sick friend in hospital. Able to do little else but lie motionless in his ward
bed, the sick friend stirred in Venter an idea that would become the seed of
Tape Aids for the Blind. From this sudden flash of inspiration – to read onto
tape a book for his immobile friend - the idea was conceived to make recordings
together with a group of tape recorder enthusiasts and to play them to patients
confined to hospital beds for long periods.
Within days Jannie called on Professor Ken
McIntyre, a blind lecturer later to become the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and
Head of the Department of Political History at the University of Natal, to talk
about the possibilities of using tape recorders to provide ‘reading’ material
for the blind and visually handicapped, or for those who, because of other
disabilities or injuries, could not read the printed word. Thus Tape Aids was
born.
Tape Aids always welcomes new volunteers. Full
details can be found at http://www.tapeaids.org.za
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