No Excuse
2:47 PM
In the last few days, I have been amazed by an interesting
communication when two of my friends, a blind Indonesian and a deaf American,
try to exchange their ideas about research. Just imagine, one who can’t see and
one who can’t hear, then how do they communicate?
Mr. Seth, the deaf man who comes from USA is accompanied by a sign language interpreter who speaks English, and fortunately my friend, Presti, is quite able to understand English, so that they can interact using the intermediary interpreter. Ah, ya, they also use e-mail to share information. It is amazing, isn’t it?
Mr. Seth acts as an adviser for Presti on doing research. Even
though person with disability, he has proper competency on research. He is an
employee of international company, IBM, and has a good position there.
Presti can use a laptop which is installed with the program
for the blind, so that she can work using a laptop, surf the internet , do her
report, read her assignment, etc. The technology is growing rapidly, so it makes
it easier for people with disabilities to be able to do something more easily.
Frankly, I knew about Presti and her gadget few months ago, when we were attending
a meeting in Banjarmasin. I was astonished, why Presti who are visually impaired
can work with a laptop in front of her. What did she do? Evidently, she used a
headset to hear the computer instruction as well as to read articles. I think
she should to thank to God for the helpful gadget.
I learn a lot from them. We should optimize our skill to
produce useful things as well as should not use our weaknesses or shortcomings
as an excuse to fail and to give up. No excuse for us to surrender.
