Microsoft gives blind IT professional in Australia one of its Most Valuable Professionals awards

From The Australian:

Despite being blind, Kenny Johar has carved out a successful career in the information technology industry.

And he has helped to make technology more accessible to Australia's vision-impaired people.

Now software giant Microsoft has recognised Mr Johar's achievements by giving him the company's Most Valuable Professionals award.

The honour means Mr Johar is among 4000 of the international IT community's brightest stars whose technical skills and leadership have been noted by Microsoft.

Mr Johar, who lives with his wife in the Melbourne suburb of Balaclava and works in the IT department of Vision Australia, said he was thrilled to be the first blind person in the world to receive the honour.

"It's like a domino effect," he said. "When I started there were lots of obstacles for people with vision impairment to get into the IT industry, and I take a huge sense of achievement from the fact I am opening a floodgate for others to follow."

Mr Johar, 29, began having problems with his eyesight in his final years of high school. He had intended to follow in his father's footsteps and become a doctor. The news that he had retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative sight condition, came as a crushing blow.

"I had strong aspirations to be a neurologist," he recalled. "I was very interested in the human brain, and then I learned that no matter how hard I worked I was never going to be able to get there, so I had to change the direction of my career."

Everything changed when Mr Johar got a laptop computer with a screen reader that allowed the information in programs and on web pages to be read aloud to him.

"Suddenly the world opened up again for me," he said. "To have something come into my life and give me such a strong ray of hope for the future made me realise how powerful a tool technology was."

Mr Johar completed a Bachelor of Science and Law degree, with a major in computing science before becoming Vision Australia's web co-ordinator.

He is now helping to roll out a new software package that will assist vision-impaired people to go online.

Mr Johar is optimistic that the IT industry will offer more opportunities to blind people. "It's not about a disability, it's about your attitude, and I think for people who come after me it's not going to be a big deal; it won't be a taboo any more."