 |
Ghanaian Helps Disabled Countrymen
By Miki Fairley About 27 years ago, a young man was born in Ghana
with a short femur and knee dislocation in his right leg. This was
not a great start in life, since in Ghana many, if not most,
disabled persons are either hidden or abandoned by ashamed
families. In fact, the day Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah was born, his
father--feeling disgraced by his son's deformity--abandoned the
family.
 |
Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah runs at the PossAbilities Triathlon at Loma Linda University. Photo by Bruce White and courtesy of Challenged Athletes Foundation. |
|
However, his mother was able to send him to a
private school. She died when he was only 13, so Emmanuel had to
leave school to earn the equivalent of $2 a day shining shoes on
the streets of Accra, Ghana's capital, noted www.nike.com.
Disabled persons compose about 10 percent of Ghana's estimated
population, and years later, Emmanuel dreamed of fulfilling his
desire to empower and inspire some two million fellow disabled
Ghanaians. He learned about the Challenged Athletes Foundation
(CAF), based in Del Mar, California, which assists disabled
athletes to achieve their goals.
CAF Helps
Yeboah wrote to the organization, describing his proposed
campaign and asking for a bicycle to be donated. With support from
CAF, he completed the 610-kilometer ride (about 380 miles) in
September 2001, wearing a shirt that read "The Pozo"--local slang
for a disabled person, notes the Nike website. Throughout the
journal, Yeboah delivered his message of disability awareness,
education for disabled children, and the need for improved
orphanages to citizens, government officials, royalty, church
leaders, dignitaries, and the media.
Emmanuel's First Triathlon
Then, in 2002, CAF flew Yeboah to San Diego, California, to
participate in CAF's Triathlon Challenge, a renowned athletic event
which is a major fundraiser for the organization. After the event,
CAF and Loma Linda University Orthopaedic & Rehabilitation
Institute, Loma Linda, California, joined forces to provide
Emmanuel with an amputation and an advanced prosthesis made with
componentry from Ossur North America, Aliso Viejo, California. Last
year, CAF again flew him to attend the Tenth Annual San Diego
Triathlon Challenge, so that he could ride the 56 miles with two
legs. Emmanuel then shaved over three hours from his time the
previous year.
Wins Nike's Casey Martin Award
CAF nominated Emmanuel for the Nike Casey Martin Award,
presented in honor of Casey Martin, a pro golfer who engaged the
PGA in a landmark lawsuit for the right to use a motorized cart
during tournaments. The US Supreme Court ruled in Martin's favor in
May 2001. That same year Nike created the Casey Martin Awards to
celebrate his passion and competitive spirit. The award is
presented annually to an individual who "has excelled in athletic
pursuits while overcoming significant physical, mental, societal,
or cultural challenges, and who proudly serves as an advocate for
fellow athletes with disabilities," explains Nike.
Just two days after the 2003 Triathlon, Emmanuel flew to
Beaverton, Oregon, where he accepted this honor at Nike's world
headquarters November 5. The award included an inscribed silver
medal and a $25,000 charitable-organization grant.
Emmanuel's Vision
 |
Emmanuel receives CAF’s “Most Inspirational Athlete of the Year” Award from Robin Williams, presented at the San Diego Triathlon Challenge. Photo by Robert Oliver and courtesy of the Challenged Athletes Foundation. |
|
Working in conjunction with CAF, Emmanuel plans to
pursue his mission with this grant in a five-year plan, consisting
of these activities:
To educate children with disabilities in Ghana each year.
Emmanuel believes that through education, children not only learn
how to use their minds, but they also become engaged in sport and
are empowered to do more than become beggars.
To oversee CAF grant distribution of sports chairs to people
with disabilities in Ghana.
To oversee a generous contribution from the Free Wheelchair
Foundation to distribute 250 everyday wheelchairs to those in need.
There are many in Ghana who crawl on the ground because they do not
have access to a wheelchair. These special chairs will allow people
to finally gain better mobility.
A portion of the grant will also be used to educate Emmanuel.
When his mother died, he had to leave school in order to support
his siblings. It was then that he opened his shoeshine business and
began planning his dream to ride his bike across Ghana and help
others with disabilities.
Emmanuel's long-term vision is to open a disabled Sports Academy
in Ghana. Currently, there are two stadiums in Ghana that are used
by all sportsmen. If people with disabilities use the facility, and
able-bodied athletes arrive for training, the disabled persons must
leave, explains CAF.
 |
Robin Williams gives Emmanuel a new running leg, courtesy of CAF, Ossur North America, and Loma Linda University. Photo by Robert Oliver and courtesy of the Challenged Athletes Foundation. |
|
The Disabled Sports Society of Ghana meets
monthly, but has very little equipment. Often, disabled persons
travel miles to attend, only to find there is not enough equipment
to go around. After a while, they become defeated and do not
return. Emmanuel believes that by building the Sports Academy for
people with disabilities, people will have access to sports such as
wheelchair basketball, soccer, rugby, wheelchair racing, and
more.
Coinciding with the CAF mission that the pursuit of sports helps
to increase self-esteem and confidence, Emmanuel believes this will
empower Ghanaians with disabilities to take control of their lives
and not live as beggars and victims. Eventually, this could even
lead to a team from Ghana participating in the Paralympics, notes
CAF.
A chief of the Kibi region has promised land on which to build
this center. And to top off a great year, 2003, Emmanuel, married a
beautiful lady, Elizabeth, on December 27. 
Table Of Contents - May 2004
|
|
