Hanadi Jassem Al Omani

Hanadi had a normal childhood just like other sighted children, full of energy and innocence. She studied in the public schools from kindergarten to the preparatory school but she joined a secondary school for blind when she lost her sight. She was an excellent student all through her study life.

After graduating from the Secondary School with a high score, she decided to choose a major that was never studied by a blind in Kuwait, so she joined the Law College in Kuwait University. She suffered, just like all her blind peers, from the lack of references printed in Braille, but she managed to overcome this problem with the assistance of her family. They would read the book and record it with their voices so she would listen to it and type it in Braille. It was a very difficult and exhausting process because of the huge size of the books, besides the teachers never appreciated her great efforts and never offered her the assistance she needed, but she succeeded to make her way to graduation and success.

Following her graduation, she received her internship in law for a period of time. Then got a job in the Special Education Schools Department as an Administrative Researcher for several years. After that, she got a job in Al-Noor Press as Braille proofreader, and later on she became its manger.

Hanadi was shocked when she realized that she lost her sight but she managed to move forward with the help of her father and the rest of her family to overcome the obstacles and stood by her side to face the new life awaiting her. They helped her in her movement and travels for work. They brought her self-confidence back and were the reason to bring to her life the hope that went off with her sight. Also Kuwait Blind Association and other regional and international associations assisted her to merge into the blind world which was new to her. She felt that she was not the only one in the world who lost her sight. She learned to depend on herself, express herself freely, run discussions, leadership, etc. She made several friendships with blind from all the Arab countries.

She has represented her country in many conferences for the blind and conferences for women in India, Jordon, Syria, Bahrain and other countries.

Hanadi held so many leading positions such as: Vice-President of Computer Committee, Kuwait Blind Association (2002-2006), Vice-President of Women Committee, Kuwait Blind Association (2004-2006); Head of Women in the Middle East Committee, Asian Blind Union, Member in the Executive Board of the Asian Blind Union and Kuwait delegate to it, Middle East Representative in the World Blind Union, Member in the Subsidiary Committee to Evaluate Prosthetic Devices in the Supreme Council of Disabled, Kuwait, and a certified international trainer in the field of Computer for the Blind.

She has also received many awards such as winning twice the "Mass White Diamond Award for Sensorial Disability" organized by "Kuwaiti charity Group Mishari Al-Khair", Charity Wing of Kuwait Projects Company, KIPCO.

As for sport, Hanadi has won a lot of prizes and medals, such as: Golden Medal in the athletics competitions in Britain, many Tennis tournaments for Blind, and finally winning the third place in the Walkathon organized by National Bank of Kuwait.

In addition, she became the third in Al-Kharafi Annual Competition for The Holy Quran.

As for her hobbies, Hanadi enjoys using the computer, discovering new things, reading, playing Tennis for Blind, swimming, traveling, writing, and listening to poetry.

As for technology and its impact on her life, Hanadi says:

"When I started working at Al-Noor Institute, I came to know, through Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), that there are special computers for Blind. I started working with them on programming and arabizing these devices and software. I became very attached to these devices and really loved them, but they didn't really cover all our technical needs, so I started to search for what may help me to use the computer in a wider way. KISR also helped me and guided me to use JAWS, a screen reader software program for visually impaired users. At first, I bought a copy and started to use it by myself but it was in English. Then I started to look for Arabic software until I found 'Ebsaar'. Sakhr Software Company invited me to volunteer to test all their programs for the blind.

Time passed and I learned to use all the programs available for the blind and took courses to learn more. InfoCenter was generous to give me courses in Operating System and many other courses. They also sent me abroad to take more courses in cooperation with Microsoft. Then I decided to launch my website which I have designed by myself. It is hosted by Fast Teleco. Not only that, but I would always explore the parts of the computer and its pieces. I would try to fix it or change the damaged parts by myself."

As for the volunteering aspect in Hanadi's life, she has volunteered to work in the Computer Committee, Kuwait Blind Association. She currently gives training courses in Al-Sobah Center for Information Development which follows Kuwait Blind Association. She also volunteered to work with several companies operating in the field of blind software, inside and outside Kuwait, to test their new products like Sakhr Software and Braille House. Moreover, she has joined many blind and disabled unions and volunteered to work with them. She loves to volunteer and always feels happy when people benefit from her efforts.

Hanadi wishes to see all the blind get the opportunity to prove their talents and abilities. She wishes the society would stop looking at the blind with sympathy. She hopes all the countries would care more for the blind and fund their development projects, especially the rich countries. For her, a disabled is not the person who lost one of his/her body parts or senses, but the one who stops developing himself/herself and the abilities God has given him/her.

To contact Hanadi Al Omani:

Website: www.hanady.org

Email: hanady@hanady.org

Hanadi recommends you to visit the following websites: