[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 54 (Monday, May 8, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S4153]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            EMMANUEL OFOSU YEBOAH'S DISABILITIES LEADERSHIP

 Mr. OBAMA. Mr. President, I rise today to honor and 
congratulate Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah for his leadership and dedication to 
raising awareness about disabilities around the world.
  Emmanuel was born without a tibia in his right leg, leaving it 
useless and severely deformed. This would have been an enormous 
obstacle for anyone in our society to overcome. But he was not born 
here--he was born in Ghana, where historically the disabled were often 
poisoned or left to die. At the time, it was believed that a child was 
born disabled due to a sin the mother had committed. Because of his 
son's deformed leg, Emmanuel's father abandoned his family, and his 
mother's friends encouraged her to kill or, at the very least, abandon 
her disabled son.
  Instead, she chose to nurture and encourage him, making the radical 
decision to send him to primary school, rather than sending him to the 
streets as a beggar.
  Unfortunately, his mother died when he was 13, and Emmanuel was 
forced to drop out of school. His only option for survival was to shine 
shoes for a living--earning the equivalent of only 2 dollars a day.
  Despite his struggle, Emmanuel's story is a successful one. He 
refused to resort to begging, and instead chose to focus the attention 
of his countrymen on the issue of discrimination of the disabled in 
Ghana. His method: biking across Ghana--with one leg. The only problem 
was that he didn't own a bicycle.
  After seeking support from the Challenged Athlete Foundation in the 
United States in 2002, Emmanuel began his journey through Ghana, 
garnering media attention with every mile. By the time he reached his 
destination, Emmanuel was a national hero.
  After 2003, when he competed in a triathlon, riding a 56-mile bike 
segment as part of a relay team, he was given a whole new life. Doctors 
were able to free him from his crutches by partially amputating his leg 
and applying a prosthetic one.
  Emmanuel has since dedicated his life to improving the lives of 
Ghana's many disabled citizens. In conjunction with the Free Wheelchair 
Mission, Emmanuel has helped provide free wheelchairs to disabled 
people around the world. He has started a cycling team, a wheelchair 
basketball team, and a running team for physically challenged athletes, 
and is currently working on starting a sports academy for disabled 
athletes in Ghana.
  Today, of the 20 million people living in Ghana, 2 million are 
disabled. Thanks to the efforts of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, Ghanaians 
with physical disabilities are living their lives with purpose, 
dignity, and value.

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