Ganni opens her own doors

Maryam Ganni has turned her deteriorating sight into a way for others to see their potential. 

 While backpacking around Europe in her early 20s, Ganni noticed she often stumbled and couldn’t tell if the lights were on or off. During an eye appointment back in her hometown of Montreal, a retina specialist handed her a box of tissues before breaking the devastating news: she was going blind. 

 At the time, Ganni was working with a major makeup retailer downtown. She was professionally certified from Lasalle College and considered makeup her passion. Eventually, she had to quit because she couldn’t read the labels on the makeup and didn’t notice if makeup was smudged or if a customer was standing right in front of her. 

 Thinking she’d never again be able to practice her passion of applying makeup, Ganni struggled to accept her condition and the changes that kept coming with it. Not wanting to be a burden to others, she kept her failing sight to herself and felt alone and isolated. 

 She was encouraged to go to the Montreal Association for the Blind - Mackay Rehabilitation Centre. There she spent three years learning Braille and how to use a white cane. 

 Later, while she was taking her certificate in entrepreneurship courses at McGill, Ganni was encouraged by her teacher to share her story, starting with her classmates, which opened the door to a career in public speaking. “It was a way to relieve all that pain and transform it into something that could help other people,” Ganni said. “And when there’s a big audience, I don’t get nervous, because I can’t see them!” 

 Her entrepreneurial spirit didn’t stop there. She also put together a course on how visually impaired people can apply make-up. At the time, she had no idea her talent would attract so much interest. 

 Ganni gives speeches to groups from corporations, universities and summer camps, using her outgoing personality and obvious passion to inspire others. Nothing touches her more than people approaching her and sharing their stories after a speech, she said. 

 She hopes to one day have her own non-profit to help non-sighted people reach their potential. True to her slogan, “Be unstoppable,” Ganni said she wants non-sighted people “to be able to use their innate gift and make their dream career come true no matter what.”