Ability

Disability

Francis M. Mwangi

Nkatha Muthomi

Lucy-Joy Wachira

Ability in Disability

Published in 2017 by

Queenex Publishers Ltd

P O Box 56049-00200 Nairobi, Kenya.

Phone: 0727 794 498, 0715 808 200

Email: info@queenexpublishers.co.ke

queenexbooks@gmail.com

Web: www.queenexpublishers.co.ke

©Queenex Publishers Ltd, 2017

retrieval system, transit in any form or by any means:

graphic, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording

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ISBN: 978-9966-075-66-6

Joy was a hardworking and obedient girl. She was

born with only one arm, but her parents always

reminded her that disability is not inability. She

schooled at Kilimanjaro Primary School which

had a very big playground. Joy liked watching her

friends play in the field, but was hesitant to join

them. She feared that she could not play as well

as her schoolmates and that they would laugh at

her.

One day, during the school holidays, her mother

sent her to the butchery to buy meat. The butcher

wrapped the meat using a piece of newspaper. Joy

liked reading very much. Once she arrived home,

she unwrapped the meat and sat under the tree

outside to read a story that was in the newspaper.

The story in the newspaper was about Carl Joseph

who was born without a left leg. He was raised in

poverty in a single parent household. It was a family

of ten children, raised by their mother within North

Florida. Carl grew up faced with many obstacles

but he did not allow himself to be discouraged.

Sports provided a platform for him to excel.

In high school, Carl played basketball, football and

athletics. In basketball, he stopped opponents`

shots and could throw the ball into the rim of

the basket. In football, he was appointed as the

captain. He played very well by hopping to kick

the ball with his one leg. He could move with the

ball and attack too. In athletics, he was the district

champion in high jump.

People used to ask Carl why he excelled in all the

games he played. He told his friends that he was

inspired by his mother.

He said, “My mother never felt sorry for me, and

I never felt sorry for myself. Believe you can do it

and God does the rest.”

Carl became very famous and was admired by

many people. He was declared a hero of all time

by his school and the State of Florida.

On the newspaper cutting, was a picture of Carl

Joseph playing basketball with a friend. Below the

picture, it was written “A one-legged athlete in the

Hall of Fame gives hope to people with disabilities.

Anything is possible if you put your mind to it and

never quit” .

Joy was very inspired after reading the story. She

read the story to her mother who also liked it very

much.

‘‘You see my daughter,’’ her mum told her. ‘‘A person

without one leg can play sports.’’

‘‘Yes mum, like Carl Joseph did and became a hero.’’

Joy responded.

‘‘He did that despite of his disability.’’ her mum

continued.

‘‘Now I understand why you always tell me that

disability is not inability.’’ Joy said smiling.

A one-legged athlete in the Hall of Fame gives hope to

people with disabilities. Anything is possible if you put your

mind to it and never quit.

Her mother responded with a smile. ‘‘My clever Joy,

I know you can also succeed in anything if you put

your mind to it and never give up.’’

When the holiday ended and the school opened,

Joy shared the story of Carl Joseph with her games

teacher. She asked her teacher whether she could

play and participate in athletics. The games

teacher was impressed with the story. He told her

and other children to go to the field and practise

during the physical education lesson.

The teacher led the pupils in some enjoyable

activities, instructing and participating with them.

‘‘Be in two rows, receive the ball and jump from

hoop to hoop while holding the ball between your

knees like this.’’ He had arranged ten hoops in a

line in front of each group.

The teacher instructed and demonstrated how to

move with the ball.

‘‘When you finish, throw the ball to the next child

in line, and run to the back of the line.’’

The children followed the instructions and seemed

to be enjoying the activity.

‘‘Now let us jump along the hoops with the ball

held between the knees again. But this time, we

will do it in twos while holding hands.’’ The teacher

said when all the children had finished jumping the

first round.

The children continued to perform the activity,

excited at the new slightly difficult task. When it

was Joy’s turn, the games teacher said. ‘‘I will pair

up with you Joy.’’

He held her by the functional hand, each of them

with a ball held between their knees. ‘‘Let us go!’’

They jumped together all the way to the last hoop.

They turned to the direction of the other children

and threw the balls to the next pair of pupils. Joy

was throwing the ball with one hand. The ball

reached close to the child at the front of the line.

‘‘Well done,’’ the teacher said to Joy. The other

children admired Joy. In the next round, Joy was

paired with one pupil. She was more relaxed this

time and other children interacted with her more

readily.

‘‘Okay, now let us do the same activity while

moving in reverse, still in pairs.’’ The teacher said

and demonstrated the action, holding hands with

another pupil.

The children followed with excitement. This task

was more challenging and the pupils kept falling

backwards, laughing merrily. Joy had mastered

more confidence by this time. When her turn came,

she held her partner with her functional hand.

They jumped from one hoop to the next. When her

partner nearly lost balance, Joy supported him

and saved him from falling. The other pupils who

were watching cheered them on.

They continued all the way to the end without falling

and the children cheered more with excitement.

‘‘Wow! very good, keep it up.’’ The teacher said

to Joy and her playmate. As the game continued

many pupils were calling Joy’s name. They all

wanted to pair up with her. She felt a sense of

accomplishment. She did not fear playing with

other pupils anymore.

The teacher continued guiding the children. The

children played together and had a lot of fun.

‘‘Now let us do the same activity while moving

sideways, still in pairs. When we reach the last

hoop, throw the ball to the next pupil in line. Then

gallop, moving sideways to the end of the line

behind like this.’’

The school headmistress was watching keenly from

a distance. She was happy when she saw Joy and

the other children playing. She later talked to the

games teacher and they both agreed that Joy was

a strong and very determined girl.

‘‘It seems she was inspired by the story of Carl

Joseph.’’ The games teacher said to the headmistress,

who immediately wanted to know more about the

story.

‘‘Who is Carl Joseph?’’ The headmistress asked.

The games teacher explained the inspiring story of

the athlete with a disability who was very good

in many sports. They vowed to encourage Joy to

continue practising in various games.

Joy looked forward to every physical education

lesson with enthusiasm. She participated and

excelled in a variety of sports activities. She became

a jovial girl and was liked by other pupils. She had

many friends and the teachers grew fond of her

too.

One day, the headmistress invited a guest from

the National Paralympics Committee to talk to

the pupils and the teachers. Mr. Peter arrived very

early in the morning and found the pupils eagerly

waiting for him at the school assembly ground.

“Good morning pupils?’’ The headmistress greeted

them.

‘‘Good morning teacher!’’ The pupils answered in

unison.

‘‘Today we have a special guest from the National

Paralympics Committee. We welcome him to speak

to us.’’

‘‘Thank you, Mrs. Hellen,’’ started Mr. Peter. ‘‘Today

I have come to visit you to encourage all of you

to participate in sports. Sporting is healthy and

rewarding. I am happy to announce to you that your

schoolmate Joy has been chosen to participate in

the next Paralympics sports event.’’ he continued.

Many pupils had never heard of such a thing as

the Paralympics sports event. Mr. Peter explained

to them that it meant Olympic games for people

with disabilities. He told them that they needed to

use their big field to practise for sports every day.

Mr. Peter said that the children could choose to

participate and compete in different sports events.

While some could do long jump which involved

running and making a broad jump, others could be

in triple jump which involved running and making

a hop, a step and a jump.

He added that others could do high jump which

involved jumping over a high bar. He said that the

walking race would be interesting to other children

and it involves making progressive steps without

breaking contact with the ground.

He continued to mention all the other activities

that the children could do. He also mentioned that

sports activities were meant for everyone to enjoy.

Joy was overjoyed. As Mr. Peter was speaking, the

story of Carl kept coming to her mind.

The headmistress thanked the guest for encouraging

the pupils to participate in sports. She then

congratulated Joy for having been chosen to be in

the Paralympics team.

The children clapped for the visitor and Joy heartily.

Joy would be taken to a training camp together

with pupils with disabilities from other schools.

There, they would train together for a week and

then proceed to competition. She looked forward

to playing with new friends. She would share

with them the story of Carl Joseph and tell them

what her mother always told her; “Disability is not

inability.”

Joy took part in the International Paralympics

competition and won a gold medal.

Questions

1. Joy was a hardworking and ________________

girl.

2. Why was Joy afraid of playing with her friends

in the field?

3. What did Joy read about in the newspaper?

4. Why was Carl Joseph declared a hero of all time

by his school and the State of Florida?

5. Sports activities are meant for everyone to

__________.

6. Participation in sports is _____________ for

everyone.

7. Participation in sports makes us _____________.

8. Disability is not ________________.

9. Games for people with disabilities is called

_________________.

10. What did Joy win in the International

Paralympics competition?