Goalball, Braille and Technology: Seeing without Light - KarazwLaimoon

Monday 21 April 2014 (7:00 - 8:15 pm - Open to all)
Language: English

In this talk, Rima will reflect on 3 components of importance to her life: Goalball, Braille and Technology.

Goalball is a sport for the blind involving throwing a ball underhand with as much force as possible, then the members of the other team throwing themselves in front of the net to defend it and throw it back.

Braille is the system of writing using dots developed so that the blind can read with their fingers. This innovation has allowed the blind to improve their literacy skills as well as receive education in a more efficient and meaningful way.

Technology today allows the blind to make diagrams that can be felt, take notes with braille computers, listen to a webpage, and conduct scientific experiments.


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Rima Kaddoura is 19 years old, studying mathematics at the American University of Beirut (AUB). She was born with a type of cancer in both her eyes called retinoblastoma. Following cancer treatments and various eye surgeries when she was a child, she lost most of her vision by age three and has been completely blind since age 13. She spent most of her life in Canada, then moved to Lebanon with her family a year and a half ago.

Rima's dream is to one day be a professor of mathematics, sharing her love for the subject with others. She has not and will not allow vision loss to stop her from achieving this and other goals in her life. In her opinion, "we are only truly disabled if we disable ourselves".