Keynote Speakers

Speech Title: Challenges that people living with disability and there success in third world

My name is Ismail Ahmed Ali, I was born in Mogadishu Somalia on 18th August, nineteen ninety. My nationality is somali, my family consists of ten members, four brothers, three sisters, and lovely parents.

I was brought up in Mogadishu city, I joined school when I was nine years old, unfortunately, I lost my sight when I was thirteen years old as I was in class five. After I lost my sight I stayed indoors for about a year. One day a man called Abdukadir Alasow come to my home and told my sweet mom Habiba Hassan about a special school for the blind which had been open in the Lower Shabelle region especially the Marka district by a lady who was from South Korea named Sung Duck Cho. My mom come into my room as I was listening to a BBC program on the radio in the evening time, “I have good news my son”, she said to me! I switched off the radio and waited for the good news anxiously.” a  school for the visually impaired has been opened at Marka district”, she exclaimed with happiness. I accepted to join  school the next day without hesitating since I was very eager to be an educated man one day, so that I can help children who are visually impaired and remain indoors as well as  persons living with different disabilities.

In July 2004, I joined the rainbow school for the blind at Marka, teachers were all from Kenya.  I Was welcomed warmly at the school and I felt at home.After I had undergone rehabilitation,  I was able to integrate the society and henceforth decided not to be shy anymore, since visual impairment is normal. By the end of 2006, I was able to read and write Braille probably as I was choosing the prefect of my class and head boy of school at large. Then I returned to Mogadishu and joined Jabir bin hayan  School at souq bacaad where I completed my upper primary school through a scholarship that had been offered by ustaad Abdulkadir Mohamed Hassan. As I was progressing with my education, I was lucky to get a scholarship from Sung Duck Cho who was behind my success in Kenya at Thika primary school for the blind. I repeated class seven since the curriculum of Kenyan education was different from the one of Somalia. Fortunately, I excelled in my KCPE examination through hard work and resilience,Alhamdulillah.

 I joined  Thika high school in 2011 where i gained a lot of knowledge, skills, experience and became a multicultural person. At the end of 2014 after I finished high school I decided to come back to my lovely country in mogadishu,Somalia  to advocate for the rights of people living with disability and teach students who are visually impaired in Somalia since they were too behind compared to the rest of the people with disability of their age.At the same time I continued with my university education at one of the universities in Banaadir region,through a scholarship offered by Abdul Aziz Agene,the head of Job key university.

 Since I was away from my home for six and a half years, my family was eager to finally meet me physically. when I arrived at our home with my dear friend,  Abikar husin who drove me from the airport, my lovely parents and siblings were waiting tor me at home and we had a memorable re-union. In January 2015 I started teaching at Al-Bashir School for Blind in the Jabari district and after five Months the first group of those who were in class eight graduated, and I was given the honor to set their exams and write them down by my friend, who was the principal at Al-Bashir School for Blind during that time.

In March 2017 I became principal at Al-Bashir. Since then, five groups have graduated. The last group was able to do their exam in Braille examined at the national level, While others  Did their exams in oral form, that was the greatest success I have ever achieved in 2021 with the lovely family of Al-Bashir School for Blind. I was also privileged to be a representative of the disability team at the Somali national youth council (SNYC) to hold the position of secretary of education and creativity on 12th October, 2017. In May 2019, I became one of the founders of differently able youth (DAY) the board members had chosen me as chairperson of the organization where we have had a good history of success in our society UpTo date. Same year In October 2019, I was chosen to represent persons living with disability at the UN youth advisory board (YAB) head of the education department.  In 2021, I was honored to be a member of the divisibility leadership collective which is a body for representing the welfare of world persons with disability.