Software helps blind surf Net
The blind and the visually impaired will now be able to browse the Internet and work on computers through a new software solution. Sakhr Software Company (SSC) recently introduced its new Reading Machine System that reads computer and Internet-based information aloud.

The SSC and Dubai Press Club are organising a workshop which runs till Wednesday. It trains people to use Sakhr's bilingual Reading Machine System, an adaptive solution that enables the blind and partially sighted people to use computers. Mohammed Omar, Technical Support Manager at SSC, said: "There are 20 representatives of several institutions and centres for the visually impaired participating in the workshop, including the Emirates Society for Rehabilitation, Early Intervention Centre, Red Crescent Authority and UAE University. The workshop was held earlier in Syria, Oman, Qatar, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. We were happy at the participants' level of understanding and the will to learn. Some of them were considered computer illiterates, but after only two days they are working on computers through this unique programme.” At the end of the workshop each participant will receive a certificate in computer and Internet skills.

Luma Adnan Al Azzawi, Information Technology Manager of the Dubai Press Club, said: "The workshop takes forward the club's ongoing commitment to social and community causes. We hope the workshop will be informative and help the visually impaired to make optimum use of computers which have become almost indispensable tools in all spheres of modern life."

Maher Al Junaidy, Media and Editorial Manager of the company, said: "This is a unique workshop that aims at meeting the needs of various associations for the visually impaired. We are happy that the Press Club is sponsoring this event along with two of the biggest IT companies in UAE, HP and DTK Computers."

Mohammed said: "The programme includes the paper reader, the net reader, the screen reader, the e-mail reader as well as a tutorial that enables new visually impaired computer users to learn how to interact efficiently with the system without the help of people with normal sight".

The bilingual Reading Machine System is the first system developed to serve Arabic users. Anis Mansour, Senior Technical Support Executive from SSC, is conducting the workshop. "The advanced technology of Sakhr Company demonstrates its expertise in diverse domains and shows that its solutions are easy and simple for users."

The workshop is free of charge and in the end, each trainee gets a three-month free trial period. Salma Ali Saeed Al Kaabi, a UAE national teacher at the Fujairah Handicapped Centre, thanked the SSC and the club for giving the blind and the visually impaired an excellent opportunity to enhance their computer skills.





Saeed Ali Khalfan, a 32-year-old national employee at the Fujairah Court Department, said: "This new programme is the best chance for the blind and visually impaired to learn how to use the computer and the Internet. "At the Fujairah Courts I work on the Braille system, but today I learned to use the normal computer. This training programme fulfiled my dreams to use the computer and Internet as any normal individual."

A Syrian national, Mazen Mohammed Fawzi, 32, is a telephone operator at Fujairah International Airport. He expressed his gratitude to the SSC and the Dubai Press Club for providing him with the best means to master the computer and Internet, especially in Arabic.