BrailleBox V5 printer was purchased for money raised within the framework of a charitable project initiated by First Ukrainian International Bank (FUIB) and L`Officiel Ukraine periodical. This is the first professional printer of this level in Ukraine. The device was transferred to Braille Studio volunteer project.

Even though the printer is in the capital, it will meet the needs of people with visual impairments in the entire territory of Ukraine. First of all, the printer will be used for printing educational literature and fiction for 6 special schools in Kharkiv, Lviv, Odesa, Kyiv, Zakarpattia, and Donetsk regions. In addition, educational institutions and non-governmental organizations engaged in education, rehabilitation, and protection of the rights of blind people will be able to contact Braille Studio to jointly initiate printing of necessary materials.

Charitable project aimed at raising money for the purchase of a printer started in May 2017. Together with L`Officiel Ukraine, FUIB created a unique travel guide to little-known tourist routes "Ukraine for You: The Best Routes through the Insiders' Eyes." Those who wanted could buy the book in an online store. All proceeds from the sale of travel guides were transferred for the purchase of a modern BrailleBox V5 printer, which has no analogues in Ukraine so far. The rest of the required amount (total cost of the printer was 16 thousand euros) was provided by FUIB bank.

"Corporate social responsibility is always part of the bank's activities. We have decided to support Ukrainians in the regions of our presence and have been consistently sticking to this principle for many years. At the same time, we try to become integrated as much as possible into the projects we support, since this is the only way to do something really important, if there is a high level of employees' and partners' involvement and support from the society. Therefore, when our colleagues approached us with this project, we readily agreed. And a year later, thanks to joint efforts, people with visual impairments received an opportunity to study and develop with the help of new books that will be printed on the up-to-date printer," commented Serhiy Chernenko, FUIB's chairman of the Board.

The first book printed on the BrailleBox V5 printer was "My Inventions. Nicola Tesla". 50 copies of this book will be delivered to blind people in all parts of Ukraine. In addition, Braille Studio plans to print an English grammar reference book and a collection of English exercises for students, Ukrainian dictionaries, and fiction for teenagers. This year, Ukrainians with visual impairments will also be able to read Antoine de Saint-Exupery's Little Prince. In Ukraine, this book will be printed in Braille for the first time.

"We, like no one else, understand how important information is for blind Ukrainians. In the magazine we actively promote reading. We talk a lot about new books. It is a matter of principles for us that they become accessible to everyone. This project also has an important educational aspect, as it will help children with visual impairments gain wider access to Braille textbooks and use more learning opportunities," commented Ulyana Boyko, chief editor of L'Officiel Ukraine magazine.

Capacity of BrailleBox V5 printer allows one to print up to 900 A4 pages per hour. It is 30% faster than printers that were used earlier for printing literature in Braille.

"Over the 27 years of Ukraine's independence, about 300 publications were printed in Braille for children and adults. According to our estimates, this covers only 5% of the needs of people with visual impairments. Until now, in addition to the scant number of publications printed in Ukraine in Braille, there were significant problems with their quality. The new BrailleBox V5 will allow us to print more books and of higher quality, complying with international standards. First of all, it will be educational and developmental literature, as well as literature for teenagers," commented Yulia Sachuk, co-coordinator at Braille Studio.

We would like to remind you that about 80 thousand people in Ukraine have eye problems, of which 10 thousand people are children and teenagers.