The soft-spoken lady from Gombak Setia here, has been attending St Joseph Catholic Church in Sentul since 2003 but only started reading Bible passages a year later to the congregation on Sundays on a bi-monthly basis.

Her Bible is a special one, as it is in Braille and was made for her by a church volunteer.

“For normal-sighted people, their Bible consists of only one book but mine has Sunday, Christmas and Easter readings as well as 12 books compiled into one,” she told Bernama today.

Josefa said she went blind when she was 17 due to a rare disease and went through many operations until the final one where she lost her sight totally.

However, she did not let the impediment impact her thinking and her future.

“I have to be strong mentally and physically because I know I cannot rely on my family members forever to support me, so I must do something to survive on my own,” she said.

Josefa said she stopped working at a company in Shah Alam based on her doctor’s advice as she also has systemic lupus erythematosus.

Now, she focuses more on making handicraft at home and selling them to her ex-office mates who are very supportive of her talent.

“Apart from that, I also do social work with church members who have disabilities, like me, through motivational programmes and outings,” she said.

Josefa who lives with her sister and brother-in-law, said she left everything in God’s hands as to where life would take her next.

“I would like to advise others to be positive and to never give up on life. Everyone is different in their own way but you have to believe that you are capable of doing anything as long as you put your mind and heart into it,” she said.

Asked about her Christmas celebration this year, Josefa said she was having a low-key one as her father passed away only three months ago.

However, apart from attending mass early morning today, Josefa would be commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ with her friends and family at home.