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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>My name is Kristopher Idrees Crawley, Idrees to my brothers and sisters in Islam. I recently joined the group and wanted to give a quick introduction.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I was diagnosed with Macular Dystrophy and Rod-Cone Dystrophy at the age of 3, mostly because they did not understand my condition. I began learning Braille in 2<sup>nd</sup> grade and was a speed reader by the end of the year. I was not allowed to use my Braille skills in class because the teachers wanted me to look as “normal” as possible. I was forced to strain my eyes to read large print and miss days of school each month due to the headaches associated with the eye strain. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I never had great vision and would get very sick if I tried to use my eyes for anything. Almost 10 years ago I began losing the rest of my vision as expected. I decided to attend a training center for the blind and I had the opportunity to train under one of the top O&M instructors in the country while attending an immersion program. Obviously, it changed my life for the better. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I have been involved in blindness rehabilitation agencies in 3 states as either a consumer or employee. Unfortunately, I decided to step away from state-run rehabilitation agencies due to the lack of knowledge, limitations, and negative views of blindness, and blind individuals held by staff at the highest levels of the agencies I worked with.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I eventually started my own business that focuses on Assistive Technology training, entrepreneurship, professional development, and independent living skills. Rehabilitation (and specifically teaching) is a passion of mine. I feel that Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) blessed me with the skills and experiences to give back to the blind community, and that is what I plan to do, however I can.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I was guided to Islam (AlHamdulillah!) only a few months after completing my program. I wanted to find other blind Muslims and figure out a way to not only network, but to also bring the message of Islam to the blind and vision impaired community.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I am happy to find this group, and I look forward to networking and working with you all to enhance and empower the blind community, inshaAllah.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Please reach out to me and consider me for any projects in the future, inshaAllah.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I look forward to meeting you all at the next meeting, inshaAllah.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Kristopher Idrees Crawley<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="https://certification.nvaccess.org/"><span style='color:blue;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=160 height=96 style='width:1.6666in;height:1.0in' id="Picture_x0020_5" src="cid:image001.png@01D74D67.8F7D1AF0" alt="NVDA Certified Expert"></span></a> <a href="http://www.freedomscientific.com/Certification"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:windowtext;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=86 height=86 style='width:.8958in;height:.8958in' id="Picture_x0020_4" src="cid:image002.jpg@01D74D67.8F7D1AF0" alt="JAWS Certified, 2020"></span></a><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'> </span><a href="https://www.zoomtext.com/learning/certification"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:windowtext;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=86 height=86 style='width:.8958in;height:.8958in' id="Picture_x0020_3" src="cid:image003.png@01D74D67.8F7D1AF0" alt="ZoomText Certified, 2021"></span></a><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>