Genevieve Caulfield
Encyclopedia
Genevieve Caulfield was a blind
American teacher, who started a school for blind people in Thailand
.
Born in Suffolk, Virginia
, she lost her sight in an accident when she was two months old. Since her youth she had dreamed of becoming a teacher to help create a better understanding between Japanese and Americans. Her dream came true in 1923, when she came to Japan, where she taught English for a living as well as Braille
to blind students.
In 1938 she opened the Bangkok School for the Blind, partly financed by her own savings, after she learned that blind children were considered useless in Thailand. Resisting repatriation during World War II, she stayed in Bangkok and continued to work for her school. From 1956 to 1960, she organized a school for the blind and a rehabilitation center for boys in Saigon.
In 1961 she was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award
for International Understanding. On 6 December 1963, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President John F. Kennedy in recognition of her work for the blind in Asia. The award was given by President Lyndon B. Johnson in honor of President John F. Kennedy.
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
American teacher, who started a school for blind people in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
.
Born in Suffolk, Virginia
Suffolk, Virginia
Suffolk is the largest city by area in Virginia, United States, and is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 84,585. Its median household income was $57,546.-History:...
, she lost her sight in an accident when she was two months old. Since her youth she had dreamed of becoming a teacher to help create a better understanding between Japanese and Americans. Her dream came true in 1923, when she came to Japan, where she taught English for a living as well as Braille
Braille
The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing.Braille was devised in 1825 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two...
to blind students.
In 1938 she opened the Bangkok School for the Blind, partly financed by her own savings, after she learned that blind children were considered useless in Thailand. Resisting repatriation during World War II, she stayed in Bangkok and continued to work for her school. From 1956 to 1960, she organized a school for the blind and a rehabilitation center for boys in Saigon.
In 1961 she was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award
Ramon Magsaysay Award
The Ramon Magsaysay Award is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in government, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idealism within a democratic society. The Ramon Magsaysay Award is often considered Asia's Nobel...
for International Understanding. On 6 December 1963, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President John F. Kennedy in recognition of her work for the blind in Asia. The award was given by President Lyndon B. Johnson in honor of President John F. Kennedy.