“Emmanuel’s Gift”
In the few months that I’ve been raising money for the Challenged Athletes Foundation (the link to my personal fundraising page is here), friends and family have sent me articles and pictures and stories about challenged athletes and their incredible achievements. However, there’s one recommendation that has really stood out because of the number of times I’ve been told about it – “Emmanuel’s Gift”, a 2005 documentary about Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, a Ghanian man who was born with a severely deformed right leg but managed to defy the odds as well as cultural and societal intolerance and become an athlete and a spokesman for challenged athletes in Ghana and around the world.
I finally watched the movie last night and I cannot believe that I waited as long as I did. As I’ve probably mentioned, I am a total sap for any sports-related overcoming-the-odds story, no matter how loosely based it is on the truth (think “The Rookie”) and the “human interest” stories during the televised Ironman or marathon coverage absolutely kill me, but “Emmanuel’s Gift” is all that to the nth degree.
Traditionally in Ghana, giving birth to a disabled is considered punishment for past sins of the parents or family. It is a curse on the family and, given the economic conditions in much of Ghana, a huge financial burden – a mouth to feed that cannot help contribute to the family’s chores or income. Disabled children are often abandoned or killed. The country does not have laws requiring access for disable people to buildings or public transportation. Most disabled people become beggars by default. AND, in 2005, an estimated 10% of the population of Ghana (2 million out of 20 million) was disabled. Emmanuel was born into this society, but through his own strength and perseverance and the support of his family, he refused to give up. He learned to walk on his one good leg, got a job and even learned how to play soccer using his leg and crutches. When he heard about CAF, he wrote and requested a grant for a mountain bike; he explained that he wanted to ride the bike using only his one good leg 600 kilometers across Ghana to raise awareness for people with disabilities. CAF sent him a bike and Emmanuel never looked back.
Since receiving that bike, Emmanuel has become an international spokesman for CAF and a tireless advocate for challenged athletes in Ghana and the US. He has also participated in triathlons, including CAF’s signature event, the San Diego Triathlon Challenge (a half-ironman in which I will be participating this October). The movie also tells the story of the formation of CAF and viewers meet two other challenged athlete-heroes of CAF, Rudy Garcia-Tolson and Jim MacLaren.
The movie is chock-full of inspiration for challenged athletes and disabled people and through Emmanuel’s work there is hope for the future of disabled people in Ghana, but “Emmanuel’s Gift” is also about never saying “I can’t” or “You can’t”. It’s about never giving up. If Emmanuel can do it, then what excuse for quitting could I (or any of us) possibly ever have?
As an update, so far I’ve raised $8646! Thank you to everyone who’s donated. Watching “Emmanuel’s Gift” it becomes very clear how important those donations are AND exactly how they are put to use.
p.s. the movie’s available on Netflix
p.p.s. this morning I swam an easy 2,100 yards. Seems pretty small compared to all that…
Bike – May 6
Time: 1:30
Average heart rate: 118
Indoor ride
Swim – May 7
Distance: 2,650 yards
Time: 1:02
Bike – May 8
Time: 1:30
Average heart rate: 119
Indoor ride
Run – May 8
Distance: 3.4 miles
Time: 30 minutes
Average heart rate: 127
Treadmill run
Swim – May 9
Distance: 2,100 yards
Time: 40 minutes