Rotary Club award for blind IT instructor
BEING blind did not deter 30-year-old Fadzlin Hiezrie Abd Rahman from learning a skill he enjoys dabbling in — information technology.
Born with only slight vision, he was drawn to computer games when he was nine.
Later, when he lost his vision completely, his school bought a new computer and he dedicated his time to learning to use it.
"In those days, computers were not equipped to help blind people learn how to use them," he recalled.
Proud moment: Nikki presenting the Vocational Service Award to Fadzlin (second from left) while Sajeet (right) and the rest of the MAB staff look on. Nevertheless, the computers did come with a speech card and the Word Perfect programme.
He then joined the Penang St Nicholas School for the blind in 1995 and honed his skills on the keyboard.
Fadzlin began teaching individuals and corporations on a freelance basis in 2003 and joined the Malaysian Association for the Blind (MAB) in 2006.
"I decided to dedicate my teaching skills to the MAB and help those who needed our assistance," he added.
Recently, the bashful bachelor was acknowledged for his contribution to society by the Rotary Club of Bangsar.
Fadzlin received the Vocational Services Award at the MAB office where he teaches short courses to participants.
He has five to 10 clients in each course that lasts five days and costs RM50 for an individual and RM500 per person for companies.
"The toughest people to teach are the blind senior citizens as they find it harder to understand and grasp the concepts," Fadzlin said.
Another group of people who need special attention are those with more than one disability, like those who have both hearing and visual impairment.
For those who are blind, like Fadzlin, a speech card is enough for them to hear the command and words typed on the computer.
"However, for those who are deaf and blind, we have to resort to a special programme with braille," he explained.
He also mans the Yahoo Trainers Corner, which is a portal that allows trainers to come together to share tips and ideas on teaching IT. The group now has more than 300 members, of whom 80% are locals.
The blind can also access other IT services at the MAB and it costs only RM1 per session.
There is also the Cyber Club where members can use the facilities but will need to pay RM12 only per year.
Fadzlin's painstaking efforts and patience in guiding those who need the expertise has helped most of his clients land stable jobs.
"He has done a great service for the community and we wanted to honour him on his own homeground," said Rotary Club of Bangsar vocational service director Sajeet Soudagar.
Sajeet added that Fadzlin had been on the list since last year so they decided to add his name to the list of recipients this year.
The awards presentation is a yearly activity that began when the club was established more than 25 years ago.
According to club president Nikki Sidhu, there are two other recipients of the award this year.
"We had a meeting three weeks ago when Rotary members could nominate those who were eligible for the award," Nikki said.
A week after the nominations, the board members gathered and decided on the three recipients.
The other two recipients are A.G.P. Vijeyaledchumi, 60, who has been working as a security and traffic control personnel at SMK Assunta in Petaling Jaya since 1980, and Mohd Aizat Yap Abd Rahman, a helper at the Royal Selangor Club who collects can rings for recycling.
"Aizat has been collecting the can rings for three years now and once a month, he delivers the rings to us," Nikki added.
Rotary Bangsar then sends the collected rings to an organisation in Thailand to be processed into artificial legs for patients.
The organisation in Thailand receives the rings from all parts of the world.
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