Maghaberry prisoners make braille books for children in Africa

By Michael McHugh

Inmates at Maghaberry Prison have produced 60 braille books for children in south-east Africa.

Walt Disney's Peter Pan, Jungle Book and Bambi were produced using the alphabet system of dots devised to help blind people read, by a team of about a dozen prisoners, most of them serving life sentences.

Children and teachers in some of the poorest countries in the world will benefit, the Northern Ireland Prison Service said.

Head of the Northern Ireland Prison Service Ronnie Armour said: "This is an excellent example of how prisoners are making a real difference to the lives of people through rehabilitative activities.

"These are some of the poorest countries in the world and poverty is an everyday reality.

"These books will prove invaluable to schools which have very limited resources and I know the efforts of prisoners who have produced them will be appreciated by the children and teachers who will use them."

Three church charities will distribute the books in schools in Malawi, Tanzania and Kenya.

Pages of braille were created on special washable material and book covers manufactured by the prisoners before each was individually bound.

Braille instructor at Maghaberry, Mark Mooney, added: "This is the only braille unit in Northern Ireland and the guys work extremely hard.

"It's very intricate work but all undertaken with great enthusiasm and dedication.

"It's an opportunity for the guys to give something back to society."