Mr
Marx Vergel
Melencio
Country of residence
Philippines
Age
42
Job category
Self-employed
Sector of Activity
Private sector
Type of Impairment
Vision
Extent of Impairment
Severe
My top 3 facilitators
Assistive devices and personal assistance
In 2005, Resources for the Blind, Inc. provided me access to their soft-loan program for JAWS, an expensive screenreader that I couldn't afford at that time. After participating in their pre-employment training program, I was able to access their soft-loan. And after a week, Resources for the Blind helped me get my first job as a technology Web content writer at a local tri-media company with North American clients.
Community organizations
In 2004, ATRIEV, a local computer school for the blind, accepted me as a volunteer Web developer. I was able to mingle with other blind persons, significantly increasing my confidence as this was barely a year after an incident of senseless violence took my eyesight away permanently.
Laws, Policies and Institutions
The Department of Science & Technology of the Philippines, under their PCIEERD division, gave me a 2-year R&D grant for my wearable AI prototype for the blind project. This allowed me to significantly achieve my targets for developing an open source, do-it-yourself pair of 3D printed eyeglasses for the blind that's powered by machine learning, deep learning, artificial intelligence algorithms, and other modern-day technologies.
My Journey
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From Why to How Through ICT
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