Pure Inspiration

 

This blog post isn't going to be about yet another event that's happening in the region, or another post about a raising talent. This one is going to be about a person nothing short of being inspirational. Someone I had the pleasure of meeting yesterday and through her presentation opened my eyes to what I haven't been aware of around me.

Yes, we maybe sympathetic and we may justify our acts of pity as help or assistance to those less fortunate then us. Yet yesterday was an inspirational talk by Shaikha Mahmood Al Jassasi that not only made me tear for the first part of the presentation, but for my heart to ache towards the sheer struggle and determination that she showed against all the odds.


Shaikha has been born blind and her parents accepted this difficult fate making sure that her upbringing is not different than any normal child. She would play and run with other children her age and felt normal without realising that there is a world out there beyond her reach. She struggled with her education since at the time there was no place for the sightless within the educational programs locally. Through her nine years of being away from her family she developed herself, learned Braille, became confident with her abilities and a determined individual who wanted to show the world around her that she simply existed, that she can be more for herself and her society.

She achieved high grade during her academic years, and is now currently holding a position as a Web Content Specialist in ITA. Her presentation was a portrayal of all that she experienced but her message within was greater in that she wanted to show those present the struggles and strains of someone who is blind. That we as a community are blind and they are the ones who have the motivation to achieve. I say that we are blind not that we cannot see but we are shortsighted when it comes to dealing with people who are considered "different". They may not have all their physical abilities but we should never disregard them as human beings, as productive players in the community and as achievers despite all the hindrance they may have.

Bless Shaikha for being a role model for those who are like her, and bless her for showing those able of body that she can achieve just as they can if not more. Bless her parents who didn't simply fold their arms and shelter their child in a unforgiving society, that they provided all that they could to witness her achievements.

Take a moment to think of those who may be born different than us. I know that yesterday through Shaikha's presentation I thought of my daughters and kept saying "what if?"...A million questions played in my thoughts such as; would I have been able to provide for my child? Would I have been able to protect her from the harshness of the world?

What would you have done?

Thoughts to ponder

Visit the Al Noor Association for the Blind website here
Shaikha introducing an English course for the blind news article here

ايش اللقطه
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