Faisal Abdullah Alhamza Al-Ghamdi

Faisal was born in 1974, in the village of Al-Shoba, in the South Area of Saudi Arabia. It is one of the Belgarshi villages near Al-Paha City. Faisal has always loved the life in the village and the simplicity of its people, young and old. He describes them by saying:

"My mother told me that a year after I was born, King Faisal had passed away. The news spread, but because of lack of Media means in that area, many of our relatives came from far away to give condolence to my family thinking that it was me who died not the King. They were surprised and relieved to know that I was fine. This incident had eased their sorrows on the king's death."

Faisal has got three brothers and two sisters who he loves tremendously. Faisal never suffered from any visual disability, but he had a slight weakness in his vision, which didn't bother him or his family as they thought it was a lack of concentration. Faisal believed that all people see the way he used to see, and that was the normal limit of vision. When he realized that it was a concentration problem, he started to strengthen his concentration spontaneously at that young age.

His family moved to Al-Taef City because of his father work. He studied there until he reached 2nd Secondary/ grade 11. He used to walk to school and never liked it at all. He would always feel a pain in his chest, and would always cough severely and sometimes blood would come out of his mouth. One day his mother saw him coughing and the blood coming out of his mouth so she took him to the hospital immediately. He underwent a comprehensive examination but Doctors couldn't find the reason of his sickness so he was sent to Al-Hada Hospital where his X-Ray showed a congenital defect. There was a lemon shaped muscle covering the heart but not attached to it. It grew as if it was a normal part of the body and it affected the heart growth and speed. Doctors decided to send him abroad as they couldn't diagnose his condition. His report was sent to a famous Cardiology Surgeon who was in a tour in the Middle East; Saudi Arabia was his first stop. The Doctor decided to do the surgery. His father quit his course in Sweden and returned because of his son's sickness; a scarify Faisal will never forget. He describes that day by saying:

"I entered the operation room and it was a scene I could never forget: a green bed, scissors, lights, I can smell the anesthetic now. They wore dreadful clothes and masks. The surgery took eight hours and a half. Doctors cut my back in the opposite side of the heart to remove that extra muscle and closed the wound with 38 stitches."

Faisal spent two months in the hospital until he was fully recovered from his heart problem, during which he was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa. He had a normal life until his sight started to fade away gradually and finally he wore glasses. His suffering with reading started in the preparatory school but he went on until Secondary school. He joined Science section because he prefers to understand rather than only memorize. He found himself responsible of his family due to his father's work circumstances and his two brothers' travel abroad. His parents taught him to depend on himself and face the life's problems. They entrusted to him big responsibilities despite his young age and his sight weakness. All those acts polished his character, made him a serious person and left a positive impact on his life which he greatly benefited from when he totally lost his sight.

There were times when he had to stop driving after sunset, but he would take the risk and drive if he was asked to, especially if his mother asked him to do so. Then his family left to Jeddah City to get closer to colleges and the university. He gradated from secondary school and faced a difficulty in choosing a suitable university because the society and the educational systems do not provide his special needs as he wasn't blind or sighted. He wanted to finish his studies so he chose the shortest ways available; he joined The Institute of Public Administration, Financial Studies. He suffered sight weakness and couldn't see the blackboard but he went on until he graduated with a "High Diploma in Financial Studies" by the help of God, his parents' prayers and his own efforts and determination to achieve his goal.

After graduation, he worked at Al-Dahlawai Electronics as a Financial Supervisor. He faced a great difficulty in reading and had to use magnifiers. The salary wasn't good enough to establish a family, so he looked for another job and joined Abdulatif Jameel Group, Toyota Agency in KSA. He found the work as a Legal Agent suitable as he only had to go to the Court of Civil Rights and file complaints on those late to pay car installments. He was exhausted with two shifts work, and again went to look for a new job though he was to get a promotion. He found a job at The Ministry of Defense and Aviation as Training Coordinator. He managed in a short time to succeed because he loved working there. He has worked there for 12 years then got promoted to HR Specialist.

It never came to his mind that he would ever lose his sight or stop driving his car or even walk alone. Though his sight was continuously fading, but he thought that it would stop retreating especially after he went under surgery in the Russian Floating Hospital Ship "Vlox" in UAE.

Faisal got married on 13/3/1420 to a Teacher of Audio Disability. His sight started to fade faster, and he had risked many times driving the car with his wife's guidance until his own driver arrived. Then he had a very tough life which hurt him deeply to just remember. He passed that painful period of his life with the help of God and also his wife. He stepped into the world of disability; a world he barely knows anything about. His wife stood by his side until they had their first son 'Alwaleed'. Faisal was extremely happy to have his first son and he followed the guidance of the prophet Mohammed: He pronounced the Adhan (Call to prayer) in one ear and the Iqamah (Second call to prayer) in the left ear to cast Satan away. His mother asked him three weeks later if he could see his son's face, so he immediately answered her, to make it less painful on her, that he couldn't see him and he didn't know how he looked, but her tears were faster than him. He said:

"As great my happiness was with my new baby, as much as my great sorrow when hearing them saying that he looked like his grandfather or his uncle. I had a fire burning my soul yearning to see him. I just wished if they would stop describing him." Life was gradually returning to normal. Shortly after he had his first son, and with his wife's financial and moral support, he established his new project: 'Alwaleed Center for Computers' to sell and maintain computers in partnership with one of his friends. His wife intended to draw his mind away from his blindness and also to occupy his free time, so he would go to his work in the morning and in the evening he would go to the shop. After 3 years he decided to give away the shop to his friend after experiencing some troubles. He preferred not to reach to an extent where he'd find himself forced to lose his friend as he believes that friendship is priceless.

He started to get interested in computers when he was in his sixth grade when his father bought him a computer 'Sakhr' and a book about Basic, a programming language. His father encouraged him to use it and to learn more about computers. Then he bought him a printer. Later on, his eldest brother bought him a computer though it was very expensive.

"When I used it for the first time, I mistakenly formatted the Hard Disk! Of course I felt shy to tell my brother, so I asked my cousin for help. He kindly replaced it with a new modern computer and also bought me a new colored printer. I was overwhelmed with joy."

Faisal had his own customs while using the computer, as he would enlarge the letters and stick his face to the screen that he would feel its heat. He got extremely annoyed and decided to sell it after he graduated. He decided to stay away from computers to preserve whatever left from his sight.

After the birth of his second child, Mohammed, he heard about a program that can read the texts on the screen of the computers and the mobile phones on the radio. He felt tremendously happy and contacted that center to inquire about it. He was soon disappointed when he was told that the training course on how to use this software would cost him around $ 4000 not mentioning the computer itself. He was shocked and dismissed the idea entirely. Days passed, and his brother in law told him about an Association that serves blind, so he called them to find out that they were the same center he heard about on the radio, but they became an Association. He says about his experience with them:

"Mr. Hisham Hameeda, who I consider my friend and my brother, trained me there. Then I had the chance to meet H.H. Prince Khalid Al-Faisal who joined the Association through me and I'm very proud of that. He gave me a laptop and a 'Text To Speech Software'. After that, the Village Election started and I suggested on the Director of the Association to try to convince the candidates to include raising awareness of the rights of blind within their Election programs under the name of the Association. He welcomed the idea, and I managed to convince some candidates. The Director of the Association was honored by one of those candidates and this candidate actually joined the Association. I continued to work until my house was robbed and my laptop was stolen. I called the Director and told him about what happened, and his answer was shocking; he just wished that I would be recompensed."

He stopped at that point. He wanted to continue his work with the Association but he didn't have the necessary tools and they didn't offer him any help. That didn't affect his relationship with them because his goal was always to serve blind and introduce them to the available techniques and train them.

Then he heard about a new buying system called "Rent To Own Software" in which the price would double but Faisal was left with no other choice. He missed the software he had always liked. So he bought it, and was faced with another problem: he wasn't introduced to all the techniques available in the market, but it was a mere commercial process. Vendors aim to profit from the blind without caring to inform them about the options available. Faisal started to read and study all the techniques, offers and services available for blind. He came to know about Alfursan Card from the Saudi Airlines which provides special services for the people with disabilities. He worked with the Special Needs Director in Saudi Airlines to design a form that is still in use today. He also came to know that there is a blind association in Qaseem City that helps blind to own a laptop and get trained to use it. He contacted them and offered them his experience in training. They gave him a new pc and modern software which he studied with the help of his wife and by reading it manual. Within a year, Faisal became a trainer and a consultant who provides technical support.

Faisal continued to look for institutions of blind like schools and universities in Jeddah City. He visited some and learned about the techniques available and how to acquire them and he also offered them his services. He cooperated with the Office of Special Needs in King Abdul-Aziz University to establish a section for the blind in the university's library. Al-Nattiq Company also assigned him as a certified trainer of their products. He also works as a certified trainer in Charity Association of Blind in Boraida City. He is about to join Al-Riyadh Blind Association. Most importantly, he provides technical support to all the blind and interested people from schools and universities all around KSA either via online chat, emails or phone.

Faisal tried to get financial support from different institutions, but their perception of serving blind was limited in 3 daily meals as that are all they need. He thinks that the situation is similar in all the Arab Countries where services may vary from one country to another, but could never be compared with those in Western countries. Faisal once wrote about this issue in the newspapers and appeared in many TV shows to discuss it. There is a new approach in the Arab World to serve the blind and he hopes to see projects that serve the blind and reduce the burden on governmental authorities as he hopes that the private sector would contribute.

He also tried to establish an Online training Center for People with Disabilities but it required him to search and follow up with members and supervisors and would obstruct him form achieving his dream to get an individual or institutional support to establish his dream center to serve the blind and raise the awareness of the society sectors with the blind and their suffer. He also wishes to establish computer training centers in all the cities of Arab World, not only to train blind but also to train training cadets, and to coordinate with other institutions to promote the rights of blind and the best way to deal with them, and also to provide their needs and privacy as well as providing suitable jobs for them.

Faisal has his own blog and a private virtual world. He encourages all the blind to create their own private virtual worlds because every blind has a mission and goals to deliver, and blogs would help them to do so.

Faisal likes to learn more about computers and how to solve their problems. He hasn't learned Braille yet, but he likes the electronics blind techniques of computers and mobile phones. He likes the organized voluntary work connected directly to People with Disabilities.

Finally, Faisal always asks God to help him repay his wife for her great assistance and continuous support. He sums up with saying:

"To be blind from birth until death, is much merciful than losing your sight later on."

To Contact Faisal:

Email: faisalwfaisal@gmail.com

Website: http://faisalit.com

Faisal recommends you to visit the following websites:

مركز قطر الاجتماعي والثقافي للمكفوفين Qatar Social and Cultural Center for Blind

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