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Municipal Citizen Guide in
Braille launched in ceremony in Sin El Fil Municipality
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USAID Director in Lebanon Denise A. Herbol participated in
the official ceremony held February 19, 2009 at Sin El Fil
Municipality that marked the launching of the Braille
version of the Municipal Citizen Guide initially developed
by SUNY/CLD.
Published by the Christian Association for the Blind in
Lebanon under the Transparency and Accountability Grant
(TAG) project implemented by AMIDEAST and funded by USAID,
the Braille version offers visually-impaired citizens access
to comprehensive information regarding municipal
transactions.
President of the Christian Association for the Blind Michel
Harika noted that the visually-impaired have rights and
duties as citizens and as such should be able to have decent
lives within the society.
A number of visually-impaired citizens attended the ceremony
with several offering testimonials of the importance of the
guide not only as an invaluable source of information about
municipal transactions but as a step towards greater
recognition of the visually-impaired in society.
USAID Mission Director Herbol in her remarks emphasized that
physical difficulties or visual impairment should not
diminish human rights in any country. She highlighted that
this USAID- funded project is one of many which assist
people with special needs, adding that more than 148 local
projects totaling $4.8 million are supported by the Agency
in order to strengthen transparency, accountability, and
good governance in Lebanon.
Regional Director for SUNY/CLD Mahmoud Batlouni noted that
publishing the Municipal Citizen Guide in Braille will
enable visually-impaired citizens to acquire the
administrative, financial and legal information to manage
their municipal transactions. He further stressed the
significance of this initiative in encouraging other
institutions and groups within the society to support
visually-impaired citizens, enabling them to attain their
goals and exercise their rights as citizens.
President of Sin El Fil Municipality Nabil Kahhaleh remarked
that the rights and duties of citizens are the same without
exception adding that the Municipality has gone far beyond
delivering traditional services to the community but is
nonetheless eager to address the special needs of its
citizens.
Mr. Khalil Hajal, Director General of Local and Municipal
Councils and Administrations at the Ministry of Interior and
Municipalities, discussed the importance of human rights for
all citizens stressing the importance of respecting the
rights of the visually-impaired as well as providing them
opportunities to achieve a reasonable standard of living.
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