After the fall of Saigon in 1975, Chi Huynh had a dream: leave his homeland of Vietnam and create a new life in California. A few years later, he packed up his possessions and did it. The journey to California wasn’t easy. A harrowing boat ride and a stint as a refugee in Thailand were just some of the travails. Finally reaching the shores of California marked a “spiritual turning point” for Huynh: Having seen much ugliness in his life, from that day forward he wanted to see and create beauty each and every day.

For the 38 million people around the world who have little or no vision, using the Internet is a near-impossible chore. The best option is a “screen reader” — software that reads aloud the text on the screen through a computer’s audio speakers. But screen readers are expensive, and many public libraries and universities do not want to pay the more than $1,000 to have them installed. This means that most blind people miss out on the joys and opportunities of the Internet.