Help for Those Who Are Blind
Worldwide, it is estimated that 43 million people are blind and that 295 million have low vision.a Sadly, many of these individuals are treated unkindly or even unjustly.
How does God feel about people who are blind? What does the Bible say about them? And how are Jehovah’s Witnesses helping them today?
How God feels about those who are blind
The Bible reveals that Jehovahb deeply cares about people who are blind. He wants them to be treated fairly and to benefit from the education he provides. He also gives them a marvelous hope for the future.
Scripture: “Cursed is the one who causes a blind person to lose his way.”—Deuteronomy 27:18.
Meaning: In ancient times, the Law that God gave to his people protected blind individuals from abuse.
Scripture: “God is not partial.”—Acts 10:34.
Meaning: God treasures people who are blind just as much as he does those who can see.
Scripture: Jesus “granted many blind people the gift of sight.”—Luke 7:21.
Meaning: By restoring some people’s sight when he was on earth, Jesus showed what God’s Kingdom will accomplish in the future.
Scripture: “The eyes of the blind will be opened.”—Isaiah 35:5.
Meaning: Jehovah promises that in the near future, when God’s Kingdom rules the earth, those who are blind will be able to see.
How Jehovah’s Witnesses help
Around the world, we as Jehovah’s Witnesses share God’s message of hope with people who are blind. How do we accomplish this?
We produce the Bible as well as Bible study publications and videos in a variety of accessible formats for the blind and those with low vision, including braille, large print, and audio.
We regularly hold Christian meetings that are open to all, including those who are blind.
We offer a one-on-one interactive Bible course with the help of a personal instructor.c
We make all of this available without charge. Why? Because Jesus commanded: “You received free, give free.”—Matthew 10:8.
Jehovah’s Witnesses genuinely care about people who are blind. We offer a supportive community to all who want to worship God along with us. Note the stories of some of Jehovah’s Witnesses who are blind.
Talita Alnashi, in Sweden, has had low vision since birth. Learn how her parents have taught her about the Bible and how she and her family have received love and support from their friends.
James Ryan, in the United States, was born deaf and later became blind. Find out how he lives a fulfilling life.
Cynthia Pablo, in the Philippines, is both deaf and blind. How did her fellow worshippers support her during the challenging COVID-19 pandemic? Find out in the article “Congregation Supports Deaf and Blind Sister During Pandemic.”
What Bible education resources do we provide?
Braille publications. We publish braille editions of the Bible, in whole or in part, in a number of languages. (For a list of languages, see the box “The New World Translation of the Bible in Braille.”) We also produce braille editions of many of our Bible-based publications. For those who would like to learn braille, we publish a workbook entitled Learn to Read Braille. It is designed to help someone who is blind learn to read braille with the help of a sighted person.
Obtain hard-copy braille publications by speaking to one of Jehovah’s Witnesses or requesting a visit.
On jw.org, download files for notetaker devices.d
Large-print publications and magnified digital content. Large-print editions of many of our publications are available for those with low vision. Our jw.org website is designed to display correctly even when the web page is zoomed in. The JW Library app also allows the text size of a publication to be adjusted.
Obtain hard-copy large-print publications by speaking to one of Jehovah’s Witnesses or requesting a visit.
On jw.org, download digital large-print publications that correspond to their hard-copy counterparts.
Audio publications. We produce audio recordings of the New World Translation of the Bible in over 200 languages. Additionally, we make audio recordings of many of our Bible-based publications. These recordings often include descriptions of the artwork.
Stream or download audio on jw.org and in the JW Library app.
On jw.org, download files for reading systems, such as screen readers and digital talking book players.e
Videos with audio descriptions.f Jehovah’s Witnesses produce Bible-based videos with audio descriptions in well over 100 languages. These videos help people understand and apply the Bible’s practical advice.
Browse the following sample categories of videos with audio descriptions:
For a Happy Marriage
The Bible Changes Lives
Whiteboard Animations
Meetings and events. We have congregations worldwide where we meet each week to learn and worship. We also organize larger events for Bible education each year. At our events that feature video presentations, we aim to provide a separate audio feed with audio descriptions. Where possible, for those who are blind and deaf, we provide tactile interpreting at our meetings and events. We welcome all and do not discriminate against anyone.
Find a congregation meeting location.
Learn about our annual conventions.
Attend the Memorial of Jesus’ death, our most important event of the year.
José Luis Ayala lives in Mexico. He was born deaf and became blind by the age of 29. Learn about the role our meetings play in his life and how he was helped to become an effective teacher of the Bible.
a “Low vision” refers to uncorrectable vision loss that interferes with daily activities. In this article, “blind” includes both total blindness and low vision.
b Jehovah is the personal name of God. (Psalm 83:18) See the article “Who Is Jehovah?”
c You can request a demonstration of this free Bible course.
d Notetakers are portable electronic devices equipped with a refreshable braille display, a computer-generated voice, or both. Refreshable displays operate by raising and lowering pins to create braille characters. Notetakers eliminate the need for a collection of braille-embossed hard copies.
e Screen readers and digital talking book players read text aloud using either a computer-generated voice or prerecorded audio. These technologies allow users to navigate to specific parts of the publication.
f Audio descriptions are spoken phrases added to a video to explain what is happening on-screen.