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Radio for the Blind

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I was wondering what reading services for the blind there might be in Mexico. Are there organizations who operate on FM subcarriers, as some do in the U.S.?

A few years ago, I moved over from commercial broadcast to a non-profit reading service for the blind and disabled. The reading services in the U.S. have a free program exchange to share content with each other. There are a handful of reading services with a small amount of Spanish programming (short stories, magazines, etc.). No daily newspapers. No programs that deal with issues specific to the blind, elderly and disabled.

Does anyone know of non-profit radio reading services for the blind in Mexico? Or ideas of other sources for that type of content?

Thanks for any suggestions and Feliz Navidad.
 
This may be a tough issue. I haven't found radio reading organizations for the blind in Mexico, so maybe they don't exist. From looking through these threads and at David Eduardo's great historical website, it seems like newspapers are, or were, very popular radio features. If there are not specific radio reading services, do any of you have suggestions as to where I might look for newspaper audio content, health programs, etc., that stations might be willing to provide?

Here's why I've become passionate about this:

Two million people or 8% of the Hispanic/Latino American adult (age 20+) population have diabetes. Hispanic/Latino Americans are 2 times more likely to have diabetes than non-Hispanic whites. Within the subcultures of the Hispanic/Latino Americans, individuals who are Mexican Americans have the highest incidence of diabetes (26%). The prevalence for diabetic retinopathy, an abnormality of the small blood vessels of the retina, in Mexican Americans is 32-40%. [1]

The Rio Grande Valley region in Texas has a diabetes rate of about three times the national rate. Texas state Sen. Eddi Lucio said as many as half of minority youth across the nation will develop diabetes at some point in their lives. In the Rio Grande Valley, medical and indirect costs associated with diabetes totaled $1.5 billion in 2007. [2]

The Spanish speaking population in my region is increasing at a larger rate than the whole, and is aging at a larger rate than the whole. Over 91% of adults who go blind, do not learn Braille. This form of radio gives people access to the printed word.

My love of radio, in any form, became a love of people who need this service. In a perfect world, I'd have a local, Spanish newspaper and it would be easy to recruit Spanish speaking volunteers to put on the mic. Neither is the case. The Hispanic population is not being served adequately and I'd like to change that. With the lack of local resources, this is the next-best idea I've come up with. Thanks again for any leads or suggestions.

1. University Health System, www.universityhealthsystem.com
2. Medical News Today, Aug. 22, 2008, www.medicalnewstoday.com
 
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