Visually impaired student invents 'safe guide' devices for daily life

AMMAN — Zahra Abu Dalou is a visually impaired student at the Royal Academy for the Blind (RAB), who spends most of her day at the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Lab, trying to invent devices that would ease up her life.

Abu Dalou, 11, has been using the STEM Lab for over a year and said it is “the most enjoyable time for her because she gets to work on electronic devices all the time”.

She smiled while displaying her device that included electronic circuits, and said “this is my safe guide while at home”.

 “I touch the device and I use it at home for multipurpose, including for electricity currents at various rooms,” she told The Jordan Times.

Abu Dalou said she was eager to show her device to Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania, who visited the RAB on Tuesday.

“We are grateful that the King and Queen visited us to learn more about our work. It is truly amazing to know that they genuinely care about us,” Abu Dalou stressed.

The pupil and her peers showed Their Majesties the projects that they designed and implemented at the STEM Laboratory for teaching the blind science, engineering, technology and mathematics, the first of its kind in the region.

Abu Dalou’s teacher and trainers Shatha Naqrash praised her for “her constant ambition to learn something new every day”.

“Zahra has brilliant ideas and I learn from her every day… we have a special bond and I deal with her as a friend, not a fifth-grade student,” Naqrash told The Jordan Times. 

The teacher added that Abu Dalou “has big capabilities such as understanding the subjects quickly and imagining what she is studying”.

“For me, it is as if she was not visually disabled and I am working with someone who can see and live a normal life,” she said, noting that Abu Dalou and other students’ attitudes have changed since the STEM Lab, which is funded by USAID, opened last year.

 “Zahra and the students became more confident because they feel that they can create something new and learn scientific subjects such as math and robotics in an easy and fun manner. We are preparing them for their future higher education,” Naqrash continued.

The teacher concluded by saying that she expects a bright future for Zahra. “She will most probably grow up to be a great inventor in Jordan, given the capabilities she has so far at this very young age,” she rejoiced.