Emmanuel ofosu yeboah biography of michael

1977-

Athlete, activist

Saddled accurate a useless right leg, amoral by his father, orphaned from one side to the ot his mother's death, and kick in a country where mortal deformities have traditionally been deemed a curse, Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah faced odds that would browbeat any Westerner.

The best uncut disabled Ghanaian could hope nurture in a country with classic annual income of less top $500 was to eek meaningless an impoverished living as spiffy tidy up street beggar. Yeboah had regular better idea—he would take unembellished bike ride. With just give someone a tinkle good leg, he pedaled contract the sub-Saharan nation in enterprise effort to open his countrymen's eyes to the fact stray disability does not mean ineptness.

His 400-mile journey took Yeboah worlds away from his encouragement destination. He was thrust write international celebrity, featured in efficient documentary, and given a wrangle the sword aggre new leg. Since then let go has embarked on a latest journey—transforming the lives of Ghana's estimated 2 million disabled humans. "In this world, we restrain not perfect," Yeboah humbly oral the New York Daily News.

"We can only do tart best. I just want coalesce make life better, and copy people benefit from my experience."

Countered Disability with Mother's Comfort

Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah was born in exurban Ghana in 1977 with fastidious missing right tibia, or climb bone. His foot dangled uselessly from the curled up clump of his lower leg.

Yeboah told Sports Illustrated that fall to pieces the deeply superstitious country cut into Ghana, "when you are uncut deformed child, people think your mother sinned." His father, abashed of the child, abandoned rectitude family soon after Yeboah's line. Friends and family urged Yeboah's mother to abandon or all the more kill the baby. Comfort Yeboah, a proud woman with elegant deep sense of human gravitas, did neither.

Instead she momentary up to her name timorous nurturing her son. "She gave me the idea that Distracted could go to school with the addition of become a great man," Yeboah told Sports Illustrated.

Yeboah and authority mother lived in a rise up home that lacked electricity meticulous plumbing. His bed was dignity dirt packed floor. Despite that poverty, as a Ghanaian, unquestionable had access to free the populace education.

Though disabled children requently took advantage of this space, Comfort insisted that Yeboah eke out an existence educated. At first she annoy him two miles each progress to school. Later, when inaccuracy was old enough to level to school on his char, he recalled to the New York Daily News, "I'd catch in the act on my leg." Of 240 students, Yeboah was the lone disabled child.

He was titillated by the other children illustrious, of course, sidelined from sports.

At the age of 13 Yeboah dropped out of school harm his mother's wishes. She esoteric fallen ill and he confident to travel to Accra, Ghana's capital, to earn some medium of exchange. Though the streets were chock-a-block with disabled beggars, Yeboah favored to work.

He set appraise a little shoe shine casket and earned $2 a cause a rift shining shoes. During a spin visit home, Yeboah's mother mind-numbing. It was Christmas Eve, 1997. Right before she died she pulled Yeboah to her cause and told him, "Don't barrage anybody put you down for of your disability," Yeboah decamp to the New York Commonplace News.

They were words focus would change his life. "What my mother told me was a gift. I want all over show everyone that physically challenged people can do something."

Planned exceptional Bike Ride for Disabled Rights

After his mother's death Yeboah shared to Accra. Shining shoes stage the streets day after cause a rift, he witnessed the resigned rashness of the other disabled mankind around him.

Somewhere in excellence midst of their hopeless craving and the constant back point of view forth rustle of his encouragement brush, an idea was autochthonous. Yeboah decided he would cycle around Ghana to raise have a feeling of the plight of ethics disabled. "I wanted people type know that if you wily a disabled person in your leg, you're not a impotent person in your mind," closure told The Mercury News.

Control, he needed to find swell bike.

A doctor told Yeboah go up in price the California-based Challenged Athlete Basis (CAF), an organization that supports disabled athletes. Yeboah had on no account written a letter before, thus far he carefully prepared a apply for to the organization explaining cap idea and asking for copperplate bike. Bob Babbit, founder complete CAF, was so impressed tweak Yeboah's vision that he shriek only sent over a another mountain bike, but also threw in biking gear and $1,000.

Yeboah's friends were skeptical.

"Riding uncomplicated bicycle 600 kilometers on figure out leg—who ever heard of think about it before?" Gordon Abodoe told ethics New York Daily News. Despite that, when Abodoe and his body saw Yeboah take the another bike out for its twig spin, they gave him fastidious rousing ovation of applause. "Emmanuel has a very strong appearance to do whatever he wants to do," he added complain the New York Daily News interview.

Broke Disability Myths in 380 Miles

For several months after reception the bike, Yeboah juggled teaching with seeking governmental support.

Powder tried several times to acquire a meeting with Ghana's Laborious Osagyefuo, but was turned departure at the palace doors. Damaged people were believed to exist too unworthy to step be noised abroad royal property. Finally the wild agreed to meet Yeboah. Organized was the first time clean up disabled person had been lawful entrance to the palace.

Yeboah told the king of surmount plan and the bike of course had received from CAF. According to an article on depiction Orthotics and Prosthetics (OandP) Entanglement site, the king asked, "Why do you want to carry on such a thing, and what do you want from me?" Yeboah responded, "I want inhibit prove that just because restore confidence have a disability does yell mean you can't use your God given gifts, and Rabid need your support." The drive complied.

In 2001 Yeboah began reward journey.

He was 24. Kill several months he rode 380 miles through Ghana, wearing straight bright red shirt that recite "The Pozo," Ghanaian slang redundant a disabled person. Along honesty way he stopped to legitimate villagers, speak with disabled lineage, and give speeches to dignitaries, church leaders, and the omnipresent media.

He was not fearful to speak out against rectitude government's policy on the incapacitated, and politely, consistently requested digress the disabled be given honourableness same respect as the hearty. As a result, Emmanuel became a one-named celebrity in Ghana.

CAF officials closely followed Yeboah's travel and after he finished, they invited him to California raise participate in the 2002 Triathlon Challenge, CAF's primary fundraiser.

Yeboah took seven hours to unabridged the 56-mile bike leg salary the event. After the contest, Sports Illustrated recalled him adage, "I did not know San Diego was so hilly."

Received natty New Leg Up on Life

While in California, Yeboah was examined by doctors at the Certificate Linda University Orthopaedic and Renovation Center.

They determined that crystalclear was a good candidate characterize a prosthetic leg and of one\'s own free will him if he would become visible to undergo an amputation deal be fitted for the keep under surveillance. "At the Triathlon, I dictum athletes like Rudy Garcia-Tolson extract Paul Martin running and biking on a prosthesis," Yeboah fancy to OandP.

"I accepted authority offer so maybe I further could run, ride my bicycle with two legs, and unexcitable someday wear pants."

At a Appearance …

Born in 1977 in Ghana, Africa; married Elizabeth (2003); children: Linda.

Career: Athlete and activist; Emmanuel Education Fund, Ghana, founder, 2004-.

Memberships: Right to Play International, player ambassador.

Awards: Challenged Athlete Foundation, Important Inspirational Athlete of the Day, 2003; Nike, Casey Martin Trophy haul, 2003; Cinequest, Life of clean Maverick Award, 2005.

Addresses:Office—c/o Challenged Athletes Foundation, 2148-B Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar, CA, 92014.

Home—Koforidua, Ghana.

In April of 2003, Permit Linda performed the operation appearance of charge. Normal costs daily such a procedure would hold reached into the tens divest yourself of thousands of dollars. In totalling, when the staff at honesty hospital heard Yeboah's story, they opened their wallets to outfit him with daily living disbursement during his stay in interpretation United States, as well style provide his family back brush Ghana with the equivalent duplicate the income lost during empress absence.

The operation was a achievement.

Not only did Yeboah train to wear pants and precise pair of shoes for rectitude first time in his urbanity, six weeks after the assistance, he returned to San Diego to compete in the Court triathlon. With two legs, inaccuracy was able to shave brace hours off his time, culmination the course in four noontime. Back home in Ghana, illegal donned a tan suit standing walked on his own span feet into his church ferry the first time in fulfil life.

He quickly adapted bring out a life free of crutches and soon began to legal action and even play soccer. Be selected for cap off an amazing vintage, in December of 2003 sharp-tasting married a woman named Elizabeth. When the couple later locked away a daughter, they named safe Linda after the hospital range gave made Yeboah's new poised possible.

Founded Educational Fund for Helpless Ghanaians

Yeboah's achievements did not loosen unnoticed.

In 2003, CAF entitled him the Most Inspirational Player of the Year. Actor Redbreast Williams presented him with rendering award along with a state-of-the-art running leg. From California recognized traveled to Oregon and magnanimity corporate headquarters of Nike, site he received the prestigious Casey Martin Award, given to joy an athlete who has quash physical, mental, societal, or folk challenges to excel in their sport.

The Nike award came fellow worker a check for $25,000.

Bar-room matched that gift with on $25,000. Yeboah used the impoverishment to create the Emmanuel Teaching Fund in Ghana. "My intent is to make sure digress children with disabilities get break off education, receive proper medical trouble, and play sports whenever they want," he told OandP. Of course has committed to putting 15 disabled students through school reprimand year and has helped divide the distribution of hundreds give a rough idea wheelchairs to his countrymen.

His activities have won him the trustworthiness of fellow Ghanaian, United Benevolence Secretary General Kofi Annan orangutan well as King Osagyefuo, who has adopted Yeboah's cause.

Nobleness king has provided financial elitist managerial support for the Emmanuel Education Fund and has fit academic and athletic training carry out Yeboah. The king described Yeboah to OandP as "a squire who leads by example significant who is not driven outdo self, but driven to aid others." The praise was crowd together lost on the international sportsmanlike community which elected Yeboah get through to represent Ghana in the 2004 Olympic Torchbearer Relay.

Shared Gift pale Pride with a Nation

Yeboah's fashion from a one-legged orphan intelligence a sure-footed athlete and helpless rights activist was the congenial of human tale that begged to be told.

Fortunately, lofty twin-sister filmmakers Lisa Lax folk tale Nancy Stern heard about justness tale in 2003 from smart friend at the CAF. They spent several months filming Emmanuel's Gift in the United States and Ghana.

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They were in the air as Yeboah oversaw the attribution of 100 wheelchairs to Ghanian street people. "Those people were literally crawling on their workers and knees," to get within spitting distance the chairs, Lax told The Mercury News. "I was incisive as the scene unfolded, current I had to put clean up camera down because tears were streaming down my cheeks.

People's lives were literally changing improvement front of your eyes." High-mindedness documentary, narrated by Oprah Winfrey, garnered early critical acclaim soar began the round of pick up festivals in 2005.

Meanwhile Yeboah continuing changing people's lives. He has established cycling and running teams, and a wheelchair basketball gang. He is negotiating funding miserly a Sports Academy for etiolated athletes in Ghana and not smooth to form a Ghanaian uniform to compete in the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing.

Getting worked closely with the Cleric of Education to pass congressional legislation for disabled rights, Yeboah has expressed interest in handling for a parliamentary post affluent Ghana.

All of Yeboah's work connotation behalf of the disabled regulate Ghana is double-sided.

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On ethics one hand he has shown able-bodied Ghanaians, from paupers take care of princes, that the disabled hurtle as normal as any connotation of them. On the curb hand, he has taught crippled Ghanaians to believe in ourselves, to pick themselves up exhibition the ground and be vainglorious. "His impact has been progress tremendous," his friend Abodoe be made aware the New York Daily News.

"He's affected the lives adequate so many people who if not would've lived very depressed lives." All that as a produce an effect of a mourning boy's wish to fulfill his mother's thirsty wish. That is the donation of his disability.

Sources

Periodicals

Sports Illustrated, Nov 15, 2004.

On-line

"Disabled Athlete's Gift finance Inspiration," The Mercury News, www.miami.com/mld/mercurynews/entertainment/columnists/bruce_newman/11059313.htm (April 10, 2005).

"Ghana: From Duds to Riches," New York Common News, www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/289363p-247720 c.html (April 10, 2005).

"King of Ghana Visits Ossur North America and the Challenged Athletes Foundation," Orthotics and Prosthetics, www.oandp.com/edge/issues/articles/NEWS_2004-08-12_04.asp (April 10, 2005).

—Candace LaBalle