Jalal Hami Eddine, a blind teacher who brightens the days of his students

With determination and will, Jalal Hami Eddine was able to overcome his visual impairment and become an English teacher, trainer, certified international consultant in personal development and an active member of the civil society.

The young Moroccan was born in Casablanca in 1980 to a poor family. They were six brothers, three of whom have been visually impaired since birth. «I am the youngest and I have two other brothers who were born blind and who are older than me. They have paved the way for me to cope with the situation», he told Yabiladi. Despite this help, his childhood was filled with sadness and fear of the unknown.

Jalal spent most of his time outside with his older brother. «I used to sit with my older brother next to his friends when I was four or five, which allowed me to learn a lot. I felt like I was more grown and that made me gain a lot of self-confidence», he recalls.

But this feeling quickly changed, after he enrolled in a boarding school for blind people at the age of six. «I entered the Alaouite Organization for the Promotion of the Blind (OAPAM) in Casablanca. Prior to that, I had heard of the injustice within this school before being confronted to it once inside by one of the teachers», he recalls.

Where there's a will, there's a way 

Due to the violence he was subjected to during that time, Jalal decided to quit school for a year, until his wounds healed. He returned there with his radio player, which was like his «friend» and instead of playing with his friends, he preferred to listen to the news, any kind of news. «I had known about political news from a young age. The BBC was one of my favorite stations», he recalls.

«One day, a grade four teacher asked us to write an essay. My friends had written about nature and the desert and I chose the role of Arab radios in the liberation of Palestine. The professor was impressed at the time», he remembers proudly.

Jalal continued in the same institution until he graduated high school in 1998 and then went to Hassan II University for a degree that he completed successfully in 2003.

During his studies at the university, Jalal Hami Eddine encountered further difficulties due to his visual impairment. «I was supposed to do research on the Internet, but I couldn't do it», he explains. This remained a barrier until he decided to overcome it by buying a computer and trying to learn how to work on it. «Instead of traveling like my peers, I would sit for hours in front of the computer. Even though it broke down because of me», he joked.

Eventually, Jamal stumbled upon a special program for blind people, which he downloaded with the help of a friend. This allowed him to easily browse the Internet and do research. Jalal even became an expert, and started fixing his friends' computers.

An «academy for personal development»

This Moroccan worked as a volunteer in the same school where he studied. «I used to teach English in the morning and then go to Rabat later in the day to look for a stable job», he said.

In 2009, one of his dreams came true when he visited the radio headquarters he had always considered his «childhood friend during school years isolation». «I was chosen to visit Britain, which came via the institute where I was studying, because I spoke English», he explained. The BBC even interviewed him.

A month after his return, Jalal Hami Eddine obtained an executive job at the Regional Academy of Education and Training in Fez, and a year later, he returned to his hometown to officially work as an English teacher in the same school where he studied.

At the same time, the Moroccan man works as a trainer and certified international consultant in personal development, after having obtained several certificates to qualify for this field.

Jalal Hami Eddine aspires to create an academy for personal development because «helping others makes [him] enjoy life more».