Published: February 7th 2008February 7th 2008
January 26, 2008
I just finished watching “Emmanuel’s Gift” with the boys at the house. What an awesome movie!!! (Thanks, Marcy, for sending it). It was a great experience to watch the movie with the boys - they understood the Twi that was spoken in it and could relate to the scenes that were shown.
If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend it. It is the true story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, of Ghana, who was born with a leg deformity. Instead of becoming a beggar, like most of the people who are disabled in Ghana, he decided instead to bring more awareness to the plight of the disabled by biking across Ghana. His courageous act brought much positive publicity and has helped change the stigma of being disabled in Ghana. After a successful amputation surgery, Emmanuel was fitted with a prosthetic leg and has since competed in numerous triathalons. He is continuing to raise money for wheelchairs and is working on putting together a national wheelchair basketball team for the Paralympics this year in Bejing.
This is the movie that has been shown at Nelsen Middle School in conjunction with the fundraiser for wheelchairs (last I had heard, Nelsen has raised over $17,000 for wheelchairs). It is a truly inspiring story. As I was watching it, I found out that Emmanuel is from Koforidua, the same town where my friend Aminu is from. Emmanuel is also about the same age as Aminu. What are the chances? I just got off the phone with Aminu…turns out he knows Emmanuel and is going to try to arrange a meeting with him.
Are you kidding me??? (Scott)???
I will keep you posted. Cross your fingers.
Check out the movie trailer at:
I am a middle school social studies in Renton, Washington, U.S.A., where I teach 7th grade World Geography and Culture. I have taken a leave of absence and am currently volunteer teaching at the International Neo-Humanist School in Ejura, Ghana. I teach remedial English to struggling students in the P5 and P6 classes (equivalent to about 5th and 6th grade) and I teach English Grammar and Composition to the P4, P5, and P6 classes, as well as one class of Art.
I am living in a boys' home that houses eight boys between the ages of 9-20. An Indian monk, called "Dada" also lives there. He overs... full info
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Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the first sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. A long series of coups resulted in the suspension of the ...more info
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Comments
Date: 16th February 2008
Ejisu
Very cool, Scott. The goodwill towards Ghana continues. Ejisu is a town we always passed through on our way to Kumasi. I'm excited to hear all that Nelsen and Renton have been able to accomplish this year. Thanks for being the leader!!!
From Blog: Emmanuel's Gift
Ejisu
Very cool, Scott. The goodwill towards Ghana continues. Ejisu is a town we always passed through on our way to Kumasi. I'm excited to hear all that Nelsen and Renton have been able to accomplish this year. Thanks for being the leader!!!
From Blog: Emmanuel's Gift
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Scott Jones
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Emmanuel
What an opportunity, Sarah! Say "Hi" to Emmanuel from Nelsen if you get to see him. On Friday, Feb. 15 the chief of the Mo tribe in Northwest Ghana will visit our school. We are collecting supplies to add to a container that is going to that area of Ghana and also to Ejisu, where a man named Kojo Fordjour is starting a library. On the wheelchair drive, we just got a matching grant set up, so we hope to meet our goal by 2/15 - we've got about $8,000 to go, so we're hopeful. Students are doing a coin drive on the 14th and 15th, too. If anyone wants to check out the cool $50 wheelchair (or donate), they can access info from the Nelsen Middle School website. I loved the soccer story - Take Care - Scott
From Blog: Emmanuel's Gift