He was born different; he has no legs. He’s a kind and cheerful boy despite having no legs. He can play tennis, fetch water, sweep the compound, and so on.
His mother was told to stop breastfeeding this boy, told that he’s worthless, but the mother resisted and wouldn’t give up on her disabled boy. This young boy is about to drop out of school due to a lack of school fees. But this is their parents’ last hope. Meet a seven-year-old who shocked everyone.
“Attitude is a choice. Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, shift your energy to what you can create. Never regret a day in your life. Good days give happiness, bad days give experience, worse days give lessons, and the best days give memories.”
My child was born without legs. I had a cesarean delivery because he had no legs to push himself out, and immediately after the birth, I went into a coma due to the pain I had experienced. Waking up from the coma, doctors did not tell me about my child, but later I found out that he has no legs.
He walks by crawling, and he is used to that because he has no other option. He has developed his own strategies that can help him when working. Though he has no legs, it doesn’t stop him from interacting with young children of the same age, and that’s the reason why children love him so much. They feel empathy for him, and they are always around him, ready to play with him.
All these children are ready to fight for him in case he faces any problem. They love him. There’s even a ten-year-old who gives him coins to buy candies. These children like to be a part of my son’s life, and he also enjoys their company. My son is well-known for having no legs. Whenever he goes out on the street, many people stare at him, causing overcrowding.
My son plays tennis; that’s his favorite game. But whenever he sees other children playing football, he joins them too and kicks the ball while seated. He also does some gymnastics.
He’s not a lazy boy, despite having no legs. He does different activities and helps his mother, whether it’s sweeping the compound, washing dishes, washing clothes, or fetching water. Even when he goes to the neighbors, he mops and does everything he can. He can even light the charcoal stove.
When I delivered him, I was shocked and said, “Why me?” Other mothers who were around came to me and said, “If I were you, I would not breastfeed this boy so that he would not grow. If you let him grow, you will suffer your whole life.” They told me that this boy will always be sleeping, he will never go anywhere, he will be defecating on himself, and I’ll be just feeding him. They discouraged me. But I said to myself that I should give him so much care and affection that will boost his morale and confidence.
Growing up, he grew more like any other kid, crying, trying to see. After six months, he insisted on wanting to sit. Because he had reached that stage, and I couldn’t find a solution, though I had no money to buy him a sitting chair. I dug a hole in the compound and filled it with some clothes. I put him in that small hole, and I was always around him, checking on him. So, he got used to sitting in that small hole and slowly learned how to sit on his own. When he was nine months old, he started crawling. He could crawl on his belly and move out of that hole. Later, he started sitting well everywhere, not just in that hole. As days passed, he started walking.
Time came, and a Catholic sister heard of the stories of a child who was born without legs. She decided to come and pay a visit to us, came, prayed, and left. She said she couldn’t help us then but may God bless this boy. After two years, that Catholic sister called us and said there is a boarding school that helps and educates children born with disabilities. Unfortunately, we could not afford to pay the required amount of money for our boy to be taken to that school.
After one month, we took our boy to that school. He has been in that school up to now. But reaching that school, they told us to pay fees, which we could not afford. The child never turned up because the school is very far, and the transport fare needed for us to be there we can’t provide for three months. They wondered whether we abandoned our own child, but it was all because we had nothing.
We told them that we had no money required for us to pay up. At least, a visit to our son once in a year. And in most cases, we failed to provide school fees. When we got a little amount, we paid a little part of the school fees, and when we didn’t have any, we couldn’t pay. Sometimes, they told us to come and take our child due to not paying school fees, and yet the debt we had for them was so big. Sometimes, they changed their mind and let him study.
Since he started his nursery baby class up to now, he’s in primary one.
School Fees
Due to this pandemic, we haven’t paid a single dime for his school fees. Not because we don’t want to pay, but because we don’t have enough money to pay for his school fees. Before this pandemic spread, we had planned to go to his school and talk to the school administration because they kept applying pressure on us, telling us to pay, yet we had nothing to pay. When school reopens, our son will drop out of school because we have failed to pay his school fees. But that’s not a good option. Our son likes and is interested in going to school. He now listens to news saying that school is about to reopen. He tells us to prepare his clothes. He doesn’t know that we have no choice of taking him to school again.
Education for my son is a priority. If I had his school fees every time and transport fare so that I could visit him in that boarding school, I would be thankful. That’s the support I need. My child deserves a better education that will give him a better future. Please help me. This is my last hope. If not, my son will drop out of school.
“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another. There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up. When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed. You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you. Let’s raise funds and help this boy get school fees for a better future.”
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