Visually impaired NYUAD student embarks on advocacy journey to help others


Anam Rizvi
  • English
  • Arabic

A visually impaired student in Abu Dhabi has spoken of her journey from living in denial to becoming an advocate for change and accessibility.

Price Maccarthy, 22, from Ghana, has no vision in one eye and only partial sight in the other. Her vision has been impaired since she was 7, but she often hid her disability from others.

On Monday, she graduated in legal studies and was happy to be a part of the New York University Abu Dhabi commencement ceremony.

She said coming to Abu Dhabi for university changed her life.

When I started at NYUAD, I was just in denial that I had a disability because my parents told me that it was something I had to hide
Price Maccarthy

Ms Maccarthy said she was studying aerospace engineering in Ghana when she had to undergo surgery at the age of 16 to improve her vision.

“At that time, the vision in my other eye was fluctuating and the doctors were trying to stabilise it, but it did not work,” she said.

She had to take time off for the surgery, missed some exams and was asked to repeat the year at the university.

Ms Maccarthy felt dejected at the thought of repeating the year and decided to move to Abu Dhabi to study for a bachelor's degree in legal studies, with the goal of later studying for a doctorate in the field.

“When I started at NYUAD, I was just in denial that I had a disability because my parents told me that it was something I had to hide,” said Ms Maccarthy.

“A friend of mine saw me struggling, tripping, falling and having blackouts so she took me to the Moses Centre office, a centre for accessibility and accommodation at NYUAD.”

During the pandemic, her eyesight deteriorated further and the university had to provide her with a walking stick.

Price Maccarthy with Kacper Madejek Kim at the graduation ceremony. Victor Besa / The National
Price Maccarthy with Kacper Madejek Kim at the graduation ceremony. Victor Besa / The National

Several people on campus reached out and told her about different ways she could seek help or advice.

It was then that she realised that although departments were trying to help students, the students themselves were unaware of what was being offered to them.

“I decided to take matters into my own hands. I thought what better way to do it than through joining the student government?” said Ms Maccarthy.

The student government is a student-led organisation at the university that serves the student body.

Ms Maccarthy was elected to the position of chairwoman of the diversity committee.

“It was the beginning of my accessibility advocacy journey. For the first time in my life, it felt like, instead of waiting for departments to reach out to me and ask me how they could be accessible, I could set up meetings with people in administration and say, 'these are some things I noticed and this is how you could help',” she said.

“During the pandemic, the university changed entry and exit routes but that meant the routes that visually impaired students had memorised or how they went about navigating the campus changed significantly.”

At that time, students were asked to collect deliveries in the evening from a different entrance than usual.

But visually impaired people were not used to this. So, Ms Maccarthy ensured that students who had vision problems were allowed to receive deliveries from the usual entry point.

She also had menu placards at a university cafeteria replaced with QR codes to make it easier for students to know food options.

Usually, in such cases, the QR code tactile indicator works by placing a Braille sticker over the QR Code that helps people with limited eyesight and they know what to order. Before the new system was brought in, students with vision problems had to depend on others to read out the menu to them.

She also focused on making university events more accessible by asking others to remove disability-related barriers.

Ms Maccarthy said there were areas that all universities could focus on to make campus life easier for students with disabilities.

Universities should focus on mobility training which can help people with disabilities get acquainted with their environment, teaching them the routes to classrooms.

She said people focused on creating awareness and educating others, but not enough time was spent focusing on the needs of disabled people.

“It's mostly about education for the greater public, so that they are not ignorant about certain things, or what to say or what not to say.”

NYUAD commencement ceremony 2022 - in pictures

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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
  1. Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
  2. Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
  3. Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
  4. Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
  5. Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
  6. The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
  7. Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269

*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year

UK’s AI plan
  • AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
  • £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
  • £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
  • £250m to train new AI models
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MATCH INFO

Real Madrid 2

Vinicius Junior (71') Mariano (90 2')

Barcelona 0

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Oppenheimer
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The%20Iron%20Claw
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MATCH INFO

Liverpool v Manchester City, Sunday, 8.30pm UAE

Iraq negotiating over Iran sanctions impact
  • US sanctions on Iran’s energy industry and exports took effect on Monday, November 5.
  • Washington issued formal waivers to eight buyers of Iranian oil, allowing them to continue limited imports. Iraq did not receive a waiver.
  • Iraq’s government is cooperating with the US to contain Iranian influence in the country, and increased Iraqi oil production is helping to make up for Iranian crude that sanctions are blocking from markets, US officials say.
  • Iraq, the second-biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, pumped last month at a record 4.78 million barrels a day, former Oil Minister Jabbar Al-Luaibi said on Oct. 20. Iraq exported 3.83 million barrels a day last month, according to tanker tracking and data from port agents.
  • Iraq has been working to restore production at its northern Kirkuk oil field. Kirkuk could add 200,000 barrels a day of oil to Iraq’s total output, Hook said.
  • The country stopped trucking Kirkuk oil to Iran about three weeks ago, in line with U.S. sanctions, according to four people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because they aren’t allowed to speak to media.
  • Oil exports from Iran, OPEC’s third-largest supplier, have slumped since President Donald Trump announced in May that he’d reimpose sanctions. Iran shipped about 1.76 million barrels a day in October out of 3.42 million in total production, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
  • Benchmark Brent crude fell 47 cents to $72.70 a barrel in London trading at 7:26 a.m. local time. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was 25 cents lower at $62.85 a barrel in New York. WTI held near the lowest level in seven months as concerns of a tightening market eased after the U.S. granted its waivers to buyers of Iranian crude.
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RESULTS

Manchester United 2

Anthony Martial 30'

Scott McTominay 90 6' 

Manchester City 0

UAE - India ties

The UAE is India’s third-largest trade partner after the US and China

Annual bilateral trade between India and the UAE has crossed US$ 60 billion

The UAE is the fourth-largest exporter of crude oil for India

Indians comprise the largest community with 3.3 million residents in the UAE

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi first visited the UAE in August 2015

His visit on August 23-24 will be the third in four years

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, visited India in February 2016

Sheikh Mohamed was the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations in January 2017

Modi will visit Bahrain on August 24-25

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GREATEST ROYAL RUMBLE CARD

The line-up as it stands for the Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia on April 27

50-man Royal Rumble

Universal Championship
Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns

Casket match
The Undertaker v Rusev

Intercontinental Championship
Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe

SmackDown Tag Team Championship
The Bludgeon Brothers v The Usos

Raw Tag Team Championship
Sheamus and Cesaro v Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy

United States Championship
Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal

Singles match
Triple H v John Cena

To be confirmed
AJ Styles will defend his WWE World Heavyweight title and Cedric Alexander his Cruiserweight Championship, but matches have yet to be announced

SPECS
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AS IT STANDS IN POOL A

1. Japan - Played 3, Won 3, Points 14

2. Ireland - Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1, Points 11

3. Scotland - Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1, Points 5

Remaining fixtures

Scotland v Russia – Wednesday, 11.15am

Ireland v Samoa – Saturday, 2.45pm

Japan v Scotland – Sunday, 2.45pm

Fire and Fury
By Michael Wolff,
Henry Holt

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X

Price, as tested: Dh84,000

Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo

Transmission: Six-speed auto

Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm

Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE%20PREMIERSHIP
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ICC T20 Rankings

1. India - 270 ranking points

 

2. England - 265 points

 

3. Pakistan - 261 points

 

4. South Africa - 253 points

 

5. Australia - 251 points 

 

6. New Zealand - 250 points

 

7. West Indies - 240 points

 

8. Bangladesh - 233 points

 

9. Sri Lanka - 230 points

 

10. Afghanistan - 226 points

 
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
  • Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
  • Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
  • The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
  • Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
  • It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
  • Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
  • Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
if you go

The flights

Fly to Rome with Etihad (www.etihad.ae) or Emirates (www.emirates.com) from Dh2,480 return including taxes. The flight takes six hours. Fly from Rome to Trapani with Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) from Dh420 return including taxes. The flight takes one hour 10 minutes. 

The hotels 

The author recommends the following hotels for this itinerary. In Trapani, Ai Lumi (www.ailumi.it); in Marsala, Viacolvento (www.viacolventomarsala.it); and in Marsala Del Vallo, the Meliaresort Dimore Storiche (www.meliaresort.it).

EA Sports FC 26

Publisher: EA Sports

Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S

Rating: 3/5

Company%20profile
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Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

Cultural fiesta

What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421,  Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day. 

The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

Classification of skills

A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation. 

A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.

The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000. 

Hotel Data Cloud profile

Date started: June 2016
Founders: Gregor Amon and Kevin Czok
Based: Dubai
Sector: Travel Tech
Size: 10 employees
Funding: $350,000 (Dh1.3 million)
Investors: five angel investors (undisclosed except for Amar Shubar)

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Updated: June 01, 2022, 3:00 AM