JEDDAH — Dozens of disabled Saudi youth presented their success stories at the ‘3rd Special Abilities Forum' here at the weekend. The forum, organized by Presidency of Youth and Welfare, aimed to provide a platform to Saudi youth who achieved success in their respective fields despite their disability. Several disabled youth have excelled in running a successful business or have carved a niche in the field of arts. These wheelchair-bound youth overcame all their challenges and did not let their disability get in their way of success. "We often hear about the problems young people with disabilities face — physical obstacles, social rejection, academic failure, and medical crises. Yet some people do overcome significant challenges and lead successful lives," said Khalid Al-Hajri, a disabled lecturer. The 3-day forum, which concluded on Friday, countered many questions like what does success mean to them and how do they achieve it? What internal characteristics do these individuals possess and what external factors are present in their lives? What advice do they have to help young people build personal strengths to overcome the challenges of life? Rakan Kurdi, Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, Safar Al-Hugbani, Mohammed Al-Shareef shared their success stories with the audience. "Even though they have some disabilities, they can still do something, they can give something to our society," said Al-Hajri. Mohammed Al-Shareef, a specialist in entertainment therapy and a skilled trainer in the use of wheelchairs, urged people who still consider disability as inability to change their mindset. The young Saudi pilot who was engaged in an accident 10 years ago and was paralyzed added: "Disability not a barrier to success." Rakan Kurdi, 22, who has never given up and managed to pursue his career on the Internet has become an outstanding designer, proving that disability does not limit creativity. On stage, Rakan said due to muscular dystrophy he could not continue his school but his love of drawing and designing came about unexpectedly as he sat in front of a computer and learned through photoshop and other tools. "I asked my father to buy me a computer and from then I became an IT designer and started to draw," he said. He said he began on simple Arabic sites and then shifted to foreign sites in order to boost his skills and abilities. Meanwhile, being on wheelchair was not an obstacle for Ahmed Al-Ghamdi to be a taxi driver. Presenting his case to the audience, Al-Ghamdi said "I always had a dream to be as normal as others despite my disability. So, I decided to be a taxi driver in addition to my daily office job at the Ministry of Education." He told the audience: "Never let a disability stop you"
