Short story: Disability is not inability
Dorothy was a girl from a village called Dzolo. She grew up in a good family with all the love and care a child would need to live a happy life.
Dorothy was a cute and smart girl. She was like the little princess in her village, and everybody loved her.
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As a result, she was nicknamed, ‘The Incredible One.’ As she was walking to school one day, a vehicle which was on top speed nearly ran over her so in order to save her life, she jumped into a gutter. Unfortunately, the gutter was too deep and narrow, so she broke her left arm.
Medicine was not very advanced in her town at that time, so after a long stay in the hospital, her arm became infected and had to be amputated. Dorothy begged the doctors to save her arm, but it was too late and there was nothing they could do.
Dorothy was left-handed so when that arm was amputated, she had a hard time doing things with her right hand. That period was a very dark time in her life.
She would sometimes lock herself in her room and cry all day. She would always ask God: Why me? But she never got any answers. Her parents did everything in their power to be there for her. They encouraged her and were always there to help her go through that phase of life. She lost all hope of becoming a surgeon in the future.
She lost her self-esteem as well since most of her mates shun her company. Somehow, they felt the village’s princess should not be an amputee. A princess has to be a complete girl.
Dorothy was a good student and before her accident, she had won a scholarship to study Science in senior high school (SHS).
After pulling herself together with the help of her parents, she was able to write the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and she passed with flying colours.
When she went to SHS, she had no friends because nobody wanted to be friends with an amputee. At that time, she had accepted her fate and had regained most of her self-esteem so when her mates shunned her, she put all her energy into studying her books.
During her final year in SHS, she had another full scholarship to study at the university but this time, it was from the Association of Physically Challenged Persons, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Canada. Nonetheless, what surprised everybody was that Dorothy decided to study Agricultural Science at the university. Their question was how could a girl who had only one hand engage in farming? Can she do it? Well, let’s wait and see.
After five years, Dorothy had many acres and cultivated different kinds of fruits. She exported some and also fed the local fruit juice manufacturers in the country. In fact, she became a very successful businesswoman with a lot of employees.
Dorothy committed herself to farming and was prosperous because of the knowledge she acquired from school about farming. She was later appointed an international ambassador for people with disabilities in the country.
One day, when she was asked in an interview about how she was able to achieve so much even though she was physically challenged, she said: Life has its ups and downs; when they come, be ready to embrace them, no matter what, and work towards them. Albert Einstein once said, ‘Try not to be a man of success but a man of value.’
Disability should never be an excuse because disability is not inability.
Her words inspired a lot of people who were physically challenged, and they overcame their challenges to acquire employable skills and made a living for themselves.
Kelvin Sena Datsa,
Fiave Global MA JHS,
Ho, Volta Region.
