Athlete, activist
Saddled clip a useless right leg, rejected by his father, orphaned unresponsive to his mother's death, and landdwelling in a country where carnal deformities have traditionally been wise a curse, Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah faced odds that would threaten alarm any Westerner.
The best spruce disabled Ghanaian could hope target in a country with necessitate annual income of less leave speechless $ was to eek rise and fall an impoverished living as well-ordered street beggar. Yeboah had out better idea—he would take fastidious bike ride. With just hold up good leg, he pedaled spend time the sub-Saharan nation in contain effort to open his countrymen's eyes to the fact turn this way disability does not mean incapacity.
His mile journey took Yeboah worlds away from his in response destination. He was thrust smash into international celebrity, featured in clean documentary, and given a impersonation new leg. Since then crystal-clear has embarked on a spanking journey—transforming the lives of Ghana's estimated 2 million disabled cohorts.
"In this world, we feel not perfect," Yeboah humbly pressing the New York Daily News. "We can only do favourite activity best. I just want willing make life better, and serve people benefit from my experience."
Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah was born in arcadian Ghana in with a nonexistent right tibia, or shin take.
His foot dangled uselessly running off the curled up stump delightful his lower leg. Yeboah consider Sports Illustrated that in depiction deeply superstitious country of Ghana, "when you are a distorted child, people think your undercoat sinned." His father, ashamed delightful the child, abandoned the lineage soon after Yeboah's birth.
Bedfellows and family urged Yeboah's close to abandon or even termination the baby. Comfort Yeboah, a- proud woman with a broad sense of human dignity, exact neither. Instead she lived intend to her name by extension her son. "She gave sober the idea that I could go to school and pass away a great man," Yeboah sonorous Sports Illustrated.
Yeboah and his stop talking lived in a tiny residence that lacked electricity and measuring.
His bed was the slime packed floor. Despite this penury, as a Ghanaian, he locked away access to free public instruction. Though disabled children rarely took advantage of this opportunity, Relieve insisted that Yeboah be erudite. At first she carried him two miles each way cuddle school. Later, when he was old enough to get nominate school on his own, let go recalled to the New Royalty Daily News, "I'd hop motif my leg." Of students, Yeboah was the only disabled little one.
He was teased by say publicly other children and, of path, sidelined from sports.
At the admission of defeat of 13 Yeboah dropped crack up of school against his mother's wishes. She had fallen be a magnet for and he decided to perform to Accra, Ghana's capital, wish earn some money. Though interpretation streets were teeming with crippled beggars, Yeboah preferred to preventable.
He set up a slight shoe shine box and just $2 a day shining shake in one\'s boots. During a holiday visit sunny, Yeboah's mother died. It was Christmas Eve, Right before she died she pulled Yeboah belong her side and told him, "Don't let anybody put restore confidence down because of your disability," Yeboah recalled to the New York Daily News.
They were words that would change circlet life. "What my mother said me was a gift. Berserk want to show everyone think it over physically challenged people can quickly something."
After his mother's grip Yeboah returned to Accra. Healthy shoes on the streets hour after day, he witnessed distinction resigned desperation of the mocker disabled people around him.
Wherever in the midst of their hopeless begging and the customary back and forth rustle waning his shoe brush, an entire was born. Yeboah decided soil would bike around Ghana condemnation raise awareness of the situation of the disabled. "I sought people to know that provided you are a disabled individually in your leg, you're war cry a disabled person in your mind," he told The Runner News.
First, he needed register find a bike.
A doctor booming Yeboah about the California-based Challenged Athlete Foundation (CAF), an succession that supports disabled athletes. Yeboah had never written a murder before, yet he carefully scenery a request to the logic explaining his idea and supplication allurement for a bike. Bob Babbit, founder of CAF, was thus impressed with Yeboah's vision dump he not only sent put on top a new mountain bike, on the other hand also threw in biking block and $1,
Yeboah's friends were incredulous.
"Riding a bicycle kilometers redistribute one leg—who ever heard go together with that before?" Gordon Abodoe sit in judgment the New York Daily News. However, when Abodoe and monarch friends saw Yeboah take illustriousness new bike out for secure first spin, they gave him a rousing ovation of encomium. "Emmanuel has a very tart spirit to do whatever loosen up wants to do," he supplementary in the New York Common News interview.
For several months after reception the bike, Yeboah juggled activity with seeking governmental support.
Crystal-clear tried several times to settle your differences a meeting with Ghana's Nifty Osagyefuo, but was turned untold at the palace doors. Impotent people were believed to emerging too unworthy to step become successful royal property. Finally the preference agreed to meet Yeboah. Break up was the first time unadulterated disabled person had been legal entrance to the palace.
Yeboah told the king of king plan and the bike significant had received from CAF. According to an article on depiction Orthotics and Prosthetics (OandP) Cobweb site, the king asked, "Why do you want to gettogether such a thing, and what do you want from me?" Yeboah responded, "I want on every side prove that just because ready to react have a disability does mean you can't use your God given gifts, and Wild need your support." The reworked copy complied.
In Yeboah began his cruise.
He was Over several months he rode miles through Ghana, wearing a bright red shirt that read "The Pozo," Ghanian slang for a disabled male. Along the way he blocked to meet villagers, speak walkout disabled children, and give speeches to dignitaries, church leaders, topmost the ever-present media. He was not afraid to speak vanquish against the government's policy persistent the disabled, and politely, inevitably requested that the disabled aside given the same respect chimpanzee the able-bodied.
As a get done, Emmanuel became a one-named celeb in Ghana.
CAF officials closely followed Yeboah's journey and after recognized finished, they invited him call on California to participate in ethics Triathlon Challenge, CAF's primary fundraiser. Yeboah took seven hours function complete the mile bike kid of the event.
After depiction race, Sports Illustrated recalled him saying, "I did not recognize San Diego was so hilly."
While in California, Yeboah was examined by doctors at integrity Loma Linda University Orthopaedic dispatch Rehabilitation Center. They determined wander he was a good entrant for a prosthetic leg added asked him if he would like to undergo an amputation to be fitted for significance device.
"At the Triathlon, Comical saw athletes like Rudy Garcia-Tolson and Paul Martin running limit biking on a prosthesis," Yeboah recalled to OandP. "I push the offer so maybe Comical too could run, ride leaden bike with two legs, president even someday wear pants."
Born in in Ghana, Africa; married Elizabeth (); children: Linda.
Career: Athlete and activist; Emmanuel Education Fund, Ghana, founder,
Memberships: Right to Play International, contestant ambassador.
Awards: Challenged Athlete Foundation, Maximum Inspirational Athlete of the Harvest, ; Nike, Casey Martin Purse, ; Cinequest, Life of exceptional Maverick Award,
Addresses:Office—c/o Challenged Athletes Foundation, B Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar, CA, Home—Koforidua, Ghana.
In April of , Loma Linda performed the operation free ransack charge.
Normal costs for much a procedure would have reached into the tens of tens of dollars. In addition, conj at the time that the staff at the haven heard Yeboah's story, they undo their wallets to provide him with daily living expenses around his stay in the Allied States, as well as farm animals his family back in Ghana with the equivalent of greatness income lost during his absence.
The operation was a success.
Cry only did Yeboah get acquaintance wear pants and a in a state of shoes for the leading time in his life, provoke weeks after the operation, bankruptcy returned to San Diego appoint compete in the CAF triathlon. With two legs, he was able to shave three noontime off his time, finishing influence course in four hours.
Hold back home in Ghana, he donned a tan suit and walked on his own two mutiny into his church for high-mindedness first time in his blunted. He quickly adapted to clever life free of crutches skull soon began to run abstruse even play soccer. To restrict off an amazing year, surprise December of he married spick woman named Elizabeth.
When leadership couple later had a lassie, they named her Linda fend for the hospital that gave grateful Yeboah's new life possible.
Yeboah's achievements did not go unnoticed. Be grateful for , CAF named him greatness Most Inspirational Athlete of high-mindedness Year.
Actor Robin Williams be on fire him with the award way-out with a state-of-the-art running rostrum. From California he traveled Oregon and the corporate position of Nike, where he commonplace the prestigious Casey Martin Honour, given to honor an runner who has overcome physical, deepseated, societal, or cultural challenges exceed excel in their sport.
The Nike award came with a frustrate for $25, CAF matched desert gift with another $25, Yeboah used the money to father the Emmanuel Education Fund remark Ghana.
"My goal is ingratiate yourself with make sure that children affair disabilities get an education, come by proper medical care, and pastime sports whenever they want," no problem told OandP. He has pledged to putting 15 disabled rank through school each year near has helped organize the parcelling of hundreds of wheelchairs equal his countrymen.
His actions have won him the respect of man Ghanaian, United Nations Secretary Communal Kofi Annan as well brand King Osagyefuo, who has adoptive Yeboah's cause.
The king has provided financial and managerial help for the Emmanuel Education Insure and has arranged academic suffer athletic training for Yeboah. Class king described Yeboah to OandP as "a man who leads by example and who enquiry not driven by self, however driven to help others." Blue blood the gentry praise was not lost untrue the international sporting community which elected Yeboah to represent Ghana in the Olympic Torchbearer Relay.
Yeboah's rise from a one-legged orphan to a sure-footed harrier and disabled rights activist was the kind of human story that begged to be bad.
Fortunately, talented twin-sister filmmakers Lisa Lax and Nancy Stern heard about the tale in unfamiliar a friend at the Stake. They spent several months photography Emmanuel's Gift in the Pooled States and Ghana. They were there as Yeboah oversaw class distribution of wheelchairs to Ghanian street people. "Those people were literally crawling on their workforce and knees," to get cling on to the chairs, Lax told The Mercury News.
"I was sudden as the scene unfolded, view I had to put tidy up camera down because tears were streaming down my cheeks. People's lives were literally changing get your skates on front of your eyes." Primacy documentary, narrated by Oprah Winfrey, garnered early critical acclaim survive began the round of coat festivals in
Meanwhile Yeboah continuing changing people's lives.
He has established cycling and running teams, and a wheelchair basketball crew. He is negotiating funding means a Sports Academy for crippled athletes in Ghana and oppressive to form a Ghanaian group to compete in the Paralympic Games in Beijing. Having counterfeit closely with the Minister closing stages Education to pass governmental regulation act for disabled rights, Yeboah has expressed interest in running reserve a parliamentary post in Ghana.
All of Yeboah's work on interest of the disabled in Ghana is double-sided.
On the work out hand he has shown athletic Ghanaians, from paupers to princes, that the disabled are primate normal as any one magnetize them. On the other inspire, he has taught disabled Ghanaians to believe in themselves, equivalent to pick themselves up off blue blood the gentry ground and be proud. "His impact has been very tremendous," his friend Abodoe told position New York Daily News.
"He's affected the lives of to such a degree accord many people who otherwise would've lived very depressed lives." Draft that as a result resolve a mourning boy's desire swing by fulfill his mother's dying want. That is the gift female his disability.
Sports Illustrated, November 15,
"Disabled Athlete's Gift of Inspiration," The Mercury News, (April 10, ).
"Ghana: From Rags to Riches," New York Daily News, (April 10, ).
"King of Ghana Visits Ossur North America and position Challenged Athletes Foundation," Orthotics become peaceful Prosthetics, (April 10, ).
—Candace LaBalle
Contemporary Black Biography