By Oyeba Mensah (Actress & HR Practitioner)
Elesi was enrolled in the New Horizon School, a school for children with special needs. Enrolling her in school was an eye-opener for me in one way or the other, because I always saw her as a liability rather than a blessing in disguise.
I remember how her teachers commended me for taking good care of her. That was a laughable one to me because l knew deep down in my heart that helping or assisting her was not something l did with joy. I was only doing it to please my mum and also because l did not have a choice.
I discovered to my surprise that, she made a very good sportswoman and placed her school first during the Olympic games for children with disabilities. She swept medals for the 100-meter dash, 200-meter race, 400-meter relay race, sack race, and the all-time favourite lime and spoon race. These sporting activities were usually organized with funding from @UNICEF.
She was a fun spot for her male counterparts because of her “back axle” (if you know what l mean). She was almost always arguing with them because they loved to tease her with her bouncing buttocks.
Elesi also has a problem with her sight, and so I was thrilled to also find out that she made very beautiful handicrafts which were sold by the school during their speech and prize giving days.
And one more thing: She has quite a shrill voice but sings beautifully. She was with the school choir and would not miss rehearsal for anything. Her favourite song is:
We shall overcome (2x)
We shall overcome someday
Oh deep in my heart, l do believe
That we shall overcome someday.
Guess what? She can sing almost every single hymn in the Methodist Hymn Book. She fellowships with the La Koo Methodist Church in La, Accra. She has a good rapport with almost everyone in the church. Her voice is the loudest you will hear when they are singing or praying. There is no need to ask “what key”; she is that “universal” singer who brings onboard that missing link that puts a smile on people’s faces.
Her sense of spirituality is something else. She can tell when something bad is imminent. Similarly, she can tell about the good things to happen. I remember on one occasion, she begged me not to use my car to work. I ignored her and sped off to work. That was the first time l got involved in an accident. Thankfully, l did not get hurt but my car was damaged.
I noticed that I find favour before others when l buy her, her favourite gifts. An embrace from her means so much to me because things just work out for me irrespective of what I am venturing into.
In fact, I draw a lot of inspiration from her because, in spite of all her setbacks, she always finds a reason to show gratitude to God, while l lament and blame God for the wrong reasons.
l have struggled for years to accept the fact that she is the only sister l have. Sometimes, l hate God for allowing my sister to live with such a fate when HE could do something about it.
At some point, l thought that she was possessed with an evil spirit to fight against my marriage because I noticed that whenever prospective guys show interest in me, they cease to come again once they discover that l have a physically and mentally challenged sister. And in cases where the men don’t really border about her condition, their families discourage them from marrying me. Very disheartening!
Sometimes l just wish that my sister was all normal like me or any other normal girl. We are unable to gist about stuff as other sisters do. And to think that she is the only sibling I have, hits me so hard!!!
…TO BE CONTINUED (Watch out for the concluding part next week)
SOURCE: DisabilityNewsGH.com