1) The project "Establish printing services and train Braille printing workers for the blinds" sponsored by VNAH with a total expenses $US 4.000
The project to establish blind worker teams to print-out e-books and Braille books at Sao Mai center with total sponsorship VND 60.800.000 (sixty million and eight hundred thousand Vietnam dong, equal to $US 4.000). Sponsored by Vietnamese Assitance for the Handicapped (VNAH). After 4 months of training, trainees basically has been able to produce eletronic print-outs as well as Braille books. But the needs of converting is quite various and complicated. There are still many kinds of Braille book need to be research further, like formatting files which have table, produce Braille music file ect. The worker team have to learn more to improve their skills. This expenses will be paid by us.
In August 2002, in the conference of Vietnam law for handicapped the team had a chance to show their abilities as they print the conference's material. The material has many statistic tables and were formated perfectly by us. In this training time Sao Mai also agreed to product 12 Braille books as bonuses for blind pupils at Hong Nhat House. For this was just testing production so the price was just very cheap.

We also made a print-out Braille music material in corellation to normal meterial. This material will be the model product to finalize our course. It is a Piano teaching material written by a bright eyes musician. The material has 2 versions: Braille book and normal book with big-sized text, and will be helpful to 2 subjects. The blind students can use it to learn with bright eyes teacher, and the blind teachers can use it to teach normal students because the 2 versions are completely the same. On the other side, it can also reach the weak visual persons. This material will help some blind musicians earn more money by teaching music to the bright eyes persons.

2) Project "Design Internet browser for the blinds", with total expenditure $US 14.000, attended the competitor "Vietnam creative day 2003" organized be World Bank and got the award of $US 10.000. The award has been spent as the project's expenditure. The award was contributed by the fund of US Agency of International Development (USAID). USAID tranfered this money through Health Volunteer Oversea - HVO, an US un-goverment organization co-operate with Sao Mai in the project's supervisor.

Beside, the project also got sponsor of $VND 25.000.000 ($US 1700) by an French organization named EnFrant Du Vietnam. Also is has got many organizations and individuals' contribution, in the result the project's fund has been raised up to $US 14.000.
The project's main target is to product a software helpping the blinds to "read" Vietnamese web pages.
Through this software Vietnamese blinds will have more chances to integrate into society.
October 2003, Sao Mai browser comed into reality, has opend new era of Vietnamese blinds' Informatics. From now on, Vietnamese blinds can "read" directly Vietnamese web pages to acchive various information about all fields of life: news, economy, education, culture, techology, ect. Especially in Oct. 2003 a great event took place in our country, Seagames 22. The most impressive memory of blinds employee group at Sao Mai is that they were able to catch up with every moment of happening Seagames 22 which is reported in online newspapers.
Beside, the Vietnamese literature treasure in recent years has been at e-library, posted on Vietnamese websites and reached by the blinds. Sao Mai browser born has helped them to read online newspapers and read news like other people. Reaching information is grown up. Note that, thourgh information, integrating chances for the blinds are widen.

Now, we can see some result such as the browser help blind students find various material on the net; support their study and research. In coming time, the effect of reaching information on the net will be more work chances for the blinds, the ablility to design advertising web pages of companies or organizations, and many thing else.

The subdinary product, Vietnamese reader compatible with SAPI5 standards, of this project has much future promise in Informatics for the blinds. As this reader can intergrate with screen reader JAWS, they can edit documents in Microsoft Office's software. Hence, in office work, the blinds can take care of themeselve equally to bright eyes colleagues. In near future, the Vietnamese localization of MS Office will be rolled out widely. The new reader will hep the blinds use MS Office more effectively and easily. Look out to other SEA nations, we can see the products of this project have raised the mission of supporting the Vietnamese blinds to a new level equal to other deveoped countries in the zone. The method of free distributing of software supporting the blinds is a proud point. Vietnam has took the lead of the field in the zone. The software is also favorited by many Vietnames living in foreigned countries in EU, North America and in the world. The software satisfy their homesick for they can read news happening in homeland.

Since November 2003, after first versions had been announced, Sao Mai center has recieved the consideration of medias. Information about Sao Mai browser has been broadcast on national TV channels like HTV, VTV. News about Sao Mai browser has been being appeared on newspapers like Tuoi Tre, Sai Gon Giai Phong, Nguoi Lao Dong, Khoa Hoc & Doi Song, Cong An, Tinh Thuong va Cuoc Song, E-Chip and many more. Also the foreign medias like BBC, VOA has news about the browser. On Vietnam Forgein Ministry's website has written about it.

Many blinds in the country who can use computers also use this software. Feedbacks through phone calls, letters, direct meet show that Vietnamese blinds are very comfortable about this product. Vietnam Assoccciation of Handdicapped has officially visited and highly remarked the acchievements of this project. Sao Mai center has awarded 2 Medals of Blinds' Happiness by Headquater of Vietnam Assocciation of Handicapped, in which 1 medal is for Sao Mai browser.
The project has completed successfully. Many benefits have been gained from: that is the supporting Vietnamese blinds more effectively, confirm the active role of Sao Mai in research and produce Informatics tool supporting blinds, confirm Sao Mai's possition in blinds' society of the country. This project has been managed by a blind. It again confirm the blinds know how to take care of themeselve most effectively. The role of co-operating of bright eyes people is very meanningful and apreciated. But the self effort of the blinds is the ultimate factor. By the way, we can see the correct policy of Vietnamese Assitance of Handicapped Children of HCM city as they grant power to the blinds in every work.

Some restrain aspects has been also fixed when doing the project. Some limit is objective reason. The development speed of worl's Informatics is too fast. First outlines met many obstacles as they didnt catch up with that speed. Another difficulty is the awareness and attitude of other people about the need of blinds to reach website. Most of Vietnamese website are not designed to be well accessed by the blinds. This problem need encouragement to change the social awareness. To solve those problems, Sao Mai has flexibly removed some project's parts. It was we didnt focus on upgrading the word processor NDC but the new reader. The organiztion activity is generally good but still include some limit. That was the testing procedure was not as good as being supposed. But these limit has been evaluated and experienced.

The software's functions now just meet parts of user's demand. Sao Mai center needs everyone's support to continously uprade the software in oder to equal to development of world's Informatics. In detail, we will upgrade the function of using templates on web and of reading Unicode.

Sao Mai's acchivement in this project is by the hardworking spirit and all-for-the blinds spirit of Sao Mai's employees and Scitec's programmers. Behind their back, this acchivement is by the care/sponsor from society and the supporting of HCM city VAHC. Sao Mai always believe in our determined road and we beilive that Sao Mai will always recieve the support from social community to acchieve future targets.

3) The project "Establish distance computer training network for the blinds" with total expenditure $US 50.475 took part in the competition "Live with your dream - Samsung Digital Hope 2003" organized by Samsung Corp. (8 countries participated) and won the award $US 40.475. This project is a kind of Informatics tele-training for the blinds fist organized in Vietnam, the teachers are the blinds themselve. The project will establish a network to tele-train Informatics between Sao Mai center and 4 units for the blinds of 4 provinces mentioned above. Sao Mai center will hold Informatics courses with the method of tele-training. All courses' material will be re-edited by Sao Mai's teacher group to be suitable to this method. The material will be converted to 3 formats:
- E-book: with this format, students can use Vietnamese reader to learn. However, new students will begin with 2 following formats
- Braille books and Tactile graphics: all blind trainees participate in the project's Informatics courses must have abilities to read braille text. Besides, tactile graphics to help blind students can touch and imagine better about the graphic objects on computers.
- Talking books: all course's lectures will be recorded and saved on tapes and CDs by the center's teachers. So students can use cassette or CD players to hear the lectures and pratice again on computers. In this project, Sao Mai established 04 computer rooms with 04 PCs/room and other accessories as well as software for the blinds in some provinces Dong Nai, Tay Ning, Ben Tre and An Giang. To establish the first network of Informatics tele-training for the blinds in Vietnam. Sao Mai has trained 04 assitant teacher for 04 above provinces. At the same time, we organized 05 conferences titled "Visual impairments along with Informatics" at 04 provinces and at Ho Chi Minh city to call for the participation of organizations and individuals to together develop the Informatics network for the blinds stronger day by day.

4) The project "Building Vietnamese word editor Sao Mai Word" with total expenses $US 10.000 sponsored by Juniper Network company in 2004. This is a speaking word editor to provide the blinds an accessible applicants in word editing.

5) The projecct "Building digital audio books library and Vietnamese screen reader for the blinds" will total expenses $US 59.535 participated in the competition "Bright future with today dream - Samsung Digital Hope 2005" held by Samsung corp. (7 countries participated) and gained award $US 44.535. This project is to develop supporting tool and suitable material source in order to help the blinds reach Informatics most effectively and quickly; create a various material source to serve blind pupils, students. The project was divided into 2 main sections:

Section 1: Building digital audio books library. In this section, we convert all the textbooks to digital audio books under DAISY standard (based on XHTML and SMIL). With these books, blinds can at the same time read braille text and/or listen to the audio, increase or decrease the reading speed, switch between pages more quickly, find the content more easily, bookmark or take notes directly on the books based on himself/herself information. Compared to the current audio books, simply read and recorded on cassette tapes so those functions are completely missing. It creates many difficulties for the blinds in reading and finding material. Moreover, the digital audio books will help updating books much quickly.

Section 2: develop Vietnamese screen reader, the project will make a Vietnamese phonetic synthetizer, after that, we will develop the screen reader and intergrate the synthetizer. The screen reader is a software supporting blinds to use computers. It purpose is to collect all data on the screen and read it out loud. Today, all screen readers are very expensive commercial softs: Jaws ($US 895) Window-eye ($US 795). Moreover, they support only some languages such as English, French, German, ect. This will much limit the approach of Informatics of Vietnamese blinds. This project will develop a free screen reader for the blinds and it will be an open source program to call for the co-operation of programmer society, besides the program is designed to be best localized later. It means if there is another language's phonotic synthetizer, the program could be localized and intergrated with that synthetizer. So, the benefit of screen reader not only for the blinds' soceity in somme countries but can be broaden to other countries.

Being permitted and supported from Education Publisher, the project has converted all textbooks to digital audio books for the blinds on DAISY standards, with total 85 titles from grade 1 to 12. The project focus mainly on education for the blinds in order to bring them the various material source helping them soon intergrate social life.

6) The project "Upgrading labs at Sao Mai center", mr and mrs Nuel Theson representing for Latter-Day Saint Charities organization, has visited and given new 8 PCs to Sao Mai.

7) The project "Upgrading labs for the blinds" with total expenses $US 5000 sponsored by Consulate Club of HCM city in 2006, has equiped 04 PCs and supporting software.

8) The project "Editing syllabuses of Informatics and self learning English for the blinds" with total expenses $US 11.000 sponsored by ONNET (Overbrook-Nippon Network on Educational Technology) in 2006
The result of this project will bring the blinds another material for self learing English. All the books are converted to digital audio books (DAISY) help blinds learn easily. And this is the key help the blinds reseach further about Informatics.

9) The project "Regional Jaws Scripting Development" with total expenses $USS 5900 sponsored by ONNET (Overbrook-Nippon Network on Educational Technology) in 2007. Sponsored by ONNET to develop Jaws Script for SEA countries, Sao Mai center has held a training course "Regional Jaws Scripting Development Workshop" from 04/2006 to 15/06/2007. The course took place at Sao Mai center. Participating in this course are 07 blind trainees representing for schools, orgranizations from countries: Philipines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. At the end of the course, Sao Mai granted them the certificates, and at the ceremony we proudly wellcomed mr Larry Campbell, representing ONNET.

10) The project to establish informatics labs serving blind students in universities with total expenses $US 35.000 sponsored by ICEVI (International Council on Education for Visual Impairment www.icevi.org". April 2008 we held a ceremony to open the lab in Ha Noi to support northen blind students. September 2008 finished the establishment of the computer lab at Social Science and Humanity University at Thu Duc district. October 2008 will establish the rest lab at Education University in HCM city.
Next we will organize training courses for students about the skill of using supporting equipments to support the studying, in the mean time we co-operate with the universities to organize the symposiums to discuss about the solution of design exam question and mark determining on computer to support the blinds in exam issuses.

11) the project "Estaablishing Computer Centers for Provincial Blind Associations (VBA Branches)" from 2007-2010 sponsored by ONNET, www.on-net.org. With expenses more than $US 100.000 in years. This project is to continously develop the informatics training network for the blinds in provinces.. In 2007 the project equiped the labs of 3 provinces Da Nang, Thanh Hoa and Ha Tinh. In the mean time held training courses for 06 trainees of those provinces to train them as source teachers at Sao Mai center. The course last for 2 months.
Year 2008, the project is setting up for 3 next provinces Quang Nam, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh. The course to train source teachers for these provinces will be held in Ha Noi for about 20 trainees from all provinces of countries, it will last for 3 months.

12) The project "Building system and organize training Informatics online for the blinds" with total expenses $US 17.237. In which 70% will be sponsored be organization Education For Development (EFD) and the rest come from Sao Mai training fund.
To broaden the informatics tele-training course to open more courses for the blinds all over the country, Sao Mai will build up the online training system from September 2008. This system will include all of neccessary supporting tools for trainees, teachers and admins to watch, interact and manage the courses.
To trainees, theyy can register the course, discuss with teachers, use e-library, do exam online. Meanwhile, teachers will esaily manage their courses will tools such as providing syllabuses, mark, watching the studying level of the trainee and many more utilities. The system is built based on web approach standards of W3C so that it will completely approachable and friendly with users.
Informatics is a most useful tool help the blinds on studying, work and information. This will help them to soon intergrate to society, equally and no barriers.

Phuong Thi Thom
(Vice-director of Sao Mai Center)
Translated by: Vu Anh Dung