“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” - Walt Disney. Ahmet has been a teacher of the visually impaired for the last fourteen years. Along with teaching, he has always had a passion for the ocean, adventure and use of assistive technology. Ahmet received The Holman Prize for Blind Ambition for his fantastic and ambitious goal to paddle solo from Asia to Europe by crossing the Bosporus Straight using a smart kayak. Ultimately his thorough planning, dedicated training regimen and the right assistive technology made for a successful voyage.

How did you plan and successfully complete your solo kayak from Asia to Europe? How long did it take you to finish this adventure?A: I love and do many different water activities such as swimming, sailing, fishing. I especially enjoy making things accessible for myself and for others.Kayaking is my passion. Inspired by self driving cars I started dreaming of a kayak that I can paddle solo And crossing the Bosporus Straight from Asia to europe. Thanks to the Holman Prize from the Lighthouse for the Blind SF I started working on my dream about 2 years ago.
To pull this journey off I needed 4 things: Physical strength, mental training, emotional strength and social support.

How are you taking advantage of assistive technology for your adventure endeavors?A: Assistive tech is a big part of my life. I use variety of AT devices on a daily basis for work, recreation, house chores ETC. For my kayaking adventures it is indispensable. I use specially designed and comercially available GPS devices, course keeping system, talking compass, and sonar. It is great to have high tech devices available but sometimes I just unplug everything and try to use direction of the wind, waves and sun to orient myself on the water. That connects me more with the environment I am in.

How do you face obstacles in life? What keeps you moving forward?A: Everyone deals with different obstacles, problems, ups and downs in their lives and I am no exception.
What makes me move forward toward my goals on is I never saw my blindness as an obstacle stopping me from what I want to do. With my passion for adventure and perseverance, I am hoping to change people's attitude towards blindness.
As a blind person to educate the public about blindness and as an educator to inspire my Blind students, I am trying to foster the qualities like immense courage and passion, persistence, a curious and adventurous spirit, strength of purpose, and belief in one's self. I hope that my journey will inspire others to follow their dreams with courage and passion.

s a teacher of visually impaired students what are the important life lessons you teach them?A: As a Blind teacher of Blind students, I tell my students that being blind should never prevent them from achieving their goals, although they might need to deal with prejudices, discrimination, and an inaccessible physical and educational environment. I let them know that limits and barriers they encounter are not results of blindness itself; they are just products of prejudice and discrimination in society. Even worse, sometimes they are our own mind's products. I want my students to understand blindness as a characteristic of a person rather than a limitation.

What are your other hobbies?A: I love outdoors. Hiking, tandem biking, Swimming, sailing, fishing and of course travelling. I also enjoy just walking around aimlessly in the city, exploring different neighborhoods, trying different food, sampling different beer.

What is your favorite place that you would like to visit and why?A: I have a long list but my top three is Cuba, Egypt and Ecuador. I love to visit Cuba because of its unique culture, music and life style. One day I love to tour the Island on a tandem bike. I'd love to go to Egypt due to its ancient history and paddle the last portion of the Nile to the Mediterranean Sea.
I also want to see Ecuador because of its natural beauties. I hope one day I can hike in the foothills of the Andes and Ecuadorian Amazon and paddle around the Galápagos.

What is your suggestion for families of children with disabilities to empower their children?A: Blind kids are no different than their sighted peers. They need to go out and play, explore, experience life around them. Unfortunately most parents worry too much about their blind children. They try to keep them home as much as possible with the fear that outside World is full of danger for a blind kid. Overprotective behaviors of the parents prevent blind kids to learn and grow. When their sighted peers play socialize and learn blind kids sit at home in isolation with very limited physical activity. My biggest advise to parents is give your children as many opportunities as possible to try new things, let them socialize with their sighted and blind peers, send them to camps where they can learn new skills, meet new people, do physical activity. Encourage, support and have high expectations of them. Do not worry too much if they fall, bump into things. Every kid falls and learns how to get up... Give your children a chance to be independent and self sufficient.

What tips/advice do you have for those in our community who want to be adventurous?A: Get out of your comfort zone and start working on your dream today. Maybe it will take a long time to achieve it but if you don't start it will never happen.
Few things I learned during my journey might help:
Don't listen to people too much. People will tell you what you can/cannot do. Don't pay attention to them. You know best about your limits and potential.
Find like minded people. There are so many people out there think like you and ready to help. Connect with them and surround yourself with positive people who have similar goals and aspirations.
try different paths if one fails. Things might go wrong and probably at some point will go wrong. Then you need to change plans, look for alternative ways to achieve your goal. Don't get stuck at one plan, be flexible and have back ups.

Any special message for our community?A: I'll be happy to share what I learned with anyone who has questions. If you want to get in touch with me or want to check what is going on with Blind Captain you can find me on social media:
https://www.instagram.com/ahmettheblindcaptain
https://www.facebook.com/ahmetblindcaptain/