Torch Trust / Insight Radio

I discovered Torch Trust while searching the web for a bible in a format I could read.  Large print books are usually very expensive to buy and some are not as large as you would like.  I had bought what said it was a large print study bible from a local Christian bookshop but gave it away in the end as is it was anything but large!!!

Anyway Torch Trust is an organisation that supports blind and partially sighted Christians in many ways.  They have a lending library of Christian books and resources in Braille, giant print and audio.  They have a production facility in Malawi and do other mission work in Africa.  There are so many different projects there are involved in too many to list.  However they also have fellowship groups that meet all over the country.  It was this aspect that I was most interested in and found the closest group was a good hour away by train.  I did go and visit this group once and was made very welcome but it really was a bit of a mission to travel that far.  

So I contacted Torch Trust and said I was interested in finding out more and maybe setting up a fellowship group where I live.  I don't believe in coincidence I think everything that happens is part of His plan and it so happened that there were a couple of people from another Church in my area who were also interested in setting up a group.  These people ran a lunch club for VI people but were interested in something with a more Christian basis.  

Torch helped us get in touch with each other and we met a few times to discuss what we could do and the Dover Torch Fellowship group was launched in March 2012.  We are still fairly small but steadily growing.  I feel I am really lucky that I go to a Church that is really supportive but not everyone is so lucky and attending a busy Church can be a pretty daunting and sometimes intimidating experience made worse if you have a sight problem.  

I was fortunate to have to opportunity to visit Torch House in Leicestershire and see for myself the work that they do there.  Their Braille book production room is very impressive and they have their own studios for recording audio books.  The main reason for my visit was to do an interview for their radio programme which is aired through the RNIB's Insight Radio and also on Premier Radio.  I had sent them a copy for the Borderlands of the Blind poem I had written and in the interview I talked about this and about my journey to become a Christian.  Like all interviews there was a lot more we said then could be fitted into the few minutes to be aired and I know there is more that I would like to have said but here it is you can Listen to my interview here.

If you are interested in the work that Torch Trust does you can find out more about them through their web site at torchtrust.org