Mohamed Ahmed Sh.
Mohamoud, is a 44-year-old father of 6 who was born blind. He is a teacher at
the Al-Nur School for the blind. He was raised by his maternal grandmother and,
by the age of 3, he was enrolled in Madrasa (a madrasa is an educational
institution offering instruction in Islamic subjects including, but not limited
to, the Quran, jurisprudence, the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, and law).
Later he was schooled in Qoryoley district. In 1991 when Siad Barre’s
government was ousted by rebels, Mohamed was in standard 8 at Qoryoley Primary
& Elementary school in Qoryoley, Lower Shabelle. Mohamed was eager to
continue his education and in order to do so he visited Addis Ababa and Nairobi
between 1994 to 1996. But that dream wasn’t successful and he decided to go
back his homeland. Fortunately he was accepted by Imamu Shafi’ primary &
Secondary School in August 1996, which was one of the first schools opened in
the country after the destruction. In July 2001, Mohamed he was among the
second batch students who graduated from Imam Shafi’ school and, on 23rd October of the same year, he enrolled
in the Islamic University in Mogadishu in the faculty of Education. In June
2005 he graduated from the university. His dissertation was the first book
accepted by the university and in 7th August of the same year he was
hired to teach at Al-Nur School for the blind in Mogadishu, Somalia. He still
teaches in that school. Mohamed has a Masters from the International University
of Africa-Sudan, department of Research and African Studies.
Mohamed, who is also
currently a lecturer in IMAM University is a role model for many. Mohamed
believes that he is the same as his peers and he can do the same things they
can do in life. He said “visual impairment doesn’t mean impairment at all and
as long as we have the mind we have the sight.” Despite his blindness, he is
the breadwinner of his family. Mohamed doesn’t believe he made a great change
and see himself as a normal. I asked him what he did differently and what
people can learn from him. He replied “I’m not vaunting and bragging myself
into anything and I’m the normal man you see.” Instead of remaining in the
veranda and the house yard, Mohamed decided to become a trader after he lost
his school in the chaos that the country went through. From 1991 to 1994 he was
a business traveler shuttling between Mogadishu and Qoryooleey for his business
purposes. Mohamed changed his mind and decided to go back to school in 1994,
stopping his business with the intent of devoting himself to seeking knowledge.
He said the reason he ceded his business was because of the importance of education.
As he said,“at any time your wealth can be mugged, destroyed or it may be
disappear, but your knowledge will remain in your brain and it is the real
asset that one can claim.” Mohamed truly believes the education rather than
anything else. “Due to education, I’m not waiting and expecting my sustenance
from anyone else. Instead I’m feeding my family and that is God’s grace.”
Mohamed, he is an instructor, motivator, and role model for his community. He
teaches both blind and sighted students. He writes articles for the newspapers,
gives interviews to TV and radio, and broadcasts orientation programs on social
affairs. A gregarious, polite blind man, he loves his friends, hugging
every single friend who visited him. He is a good for storyteller, likes to inspire
the people and he help them understand that losing eyesight is not losing your
capability to learn, work, and interact with society.
The ambition of the great
smiling blind man is not yet at an end. He expects to pursue his PhD soon; he
plans to start in 2018 if the things go well. Lastly, Mohamed has a word to his
community. “Changes begin when you believe it.” He added, “As a man, you need
to have a role model, a person that you follow in his footprints, therefore,
have a good path that reaches you the good horizon and do not hesitate to
change yourself as well the world.”
Elmi
H Samatar
samatar2020@hotmail.com
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