Disability can never be Inability

Disability can never be Inability
Joshua was a boy who was born prematurely by her mother at the age of seven months because her mother, Prudence had contracted a serious bout of Malaria during her late pregnancy. Therefore, Joshua had to stay in the hospital nursery for a period of 2 months before he was discharged. After being discharged, the mother did not have any money because Joshua had been born out of wedlock and therefore, the father had denied responsibility for the mother’s pregnancy. Luckily enough, Joshua’s mother was a very staunch Christian who worshipped in one of the local Anglican Churches and therefore, the members of her cell group came in quickly and paid all her hospital bills.
Back at home in a remote village known as Kalazar, life was very unbearable since Joshua’s mother was a casual employee in one of the local factories and as such, she was not entitled to any fringe benefits and incentives in her work. The neighbors quickly moved in and provided the little food they had so that poor Prudence and her son could afford a meal on the table. Life was so hard that Joshua’s mother once contemplated committing suicide because things were not the way they were supposed to be. Joshua’s father, a successful farmer in Kalazar could hear none of it when approached by a close friend of Prudence to offer his help. Instead, he accused Prudence as a prostitute who slept with anyone she came across with and therefore stood his ground and said he was not responsible for her pregnancy.
Because of the remote environment and the low standards of living that Prudence and her son were living in, Joshua contracted Polio and therefore led to one of his legs being crippled. His mother never knew anything about immunizations until the Pastor of the Church; a Reverend Adamson asked her if she had taken the baby to the clinic for immunizations. Luckily enough, the reverend’s interventions saved poor Joshua from contradicting some other diseases which could have easily been prevented through vaccinations and other immunizations. Joshua’s childhood was marred by pains and hardships but all in all, Jehovah God stood with this single parent family and they managed to go through the hurdles of very delicate childhood.
At the age of three years, Joshua was a very jovial boy who enjoyed playing with his friends and easily struck the support and admiration of every person he came across despite his physical disability. He was very creative in his childhood games and every child in his neighborhood could never afford a day without him despite their mothers’ threats not to play with a cripple. Owing to this, her mother was luckily reinstated to her position at the factory and after her first pay; she enrolled Joshua in a baby class at the nearest academy in the neighborhood. The academy, Tompkins Academy for the Sons and Daughters of Distinguished Gentlemen was well known for producing the best student’s country wide and therefore Prudence having wanted the best for her son decided this was the best place for Joshua to be. Due to her poor financial status, Prudence could not afford paying Joshua’s school fees on time and therefore, day in day out, he was sent home to collect fee balances. The head of the academy was deeply concerned by Joshua’s plight that he one day wrote a letter and sent the little boy to report to school with her mother the following day. When Prudence came in school, the Head asked her why she was not paying Joshua’s fee on time of which she answered that it was due to her financial incapability. After the meeting, the Head and Joshua’s mother struck a deal in which Prudence was to be a part time cook at the academy and part of her salary was to be deducted as fee for her son. This was a big step forward as far as Joshua’s education was concerned. Prudence understood that for any meaningful education to be achieved, the foundation of learning in early childhood education was of uttermost importance.
Prudence now became used to teaching Joshua some elementary mathematics and basic reading skills after work before they could sleep. She ensured that Joshua completes his homework before sleeping and thus Joshua became too bright. Prudence became accustomed to waking up at four o’clock in the morning to go and prepare porridge for the youngsters at the Academy. She juggled between the factory job and the academy job to ensure everything went on smoothly. Despite the heavy schedules, Prudence always created some good time for her son so that she helps him through his homework and make sure he was comfortable.
At the end of the first term in the academy, Joshua emerged the best pupil in his class was given presents and trophies. Not only was he the best student in his class, but also emerged the best pupil in each of the ten subjects that were being offered in his class. His mother was very happy and encouraged Joshua to work extra harder so that he maintains his leading position in his class.
When the new term started, everything went on very well for Joshua. Any hard questions that he faced were quickly handed over to the teacher who could solve them for him. Unluckily enough, Joshua’s brightness earned him friend and enemies alike in his class. It so happened that one day during their Physical Health education lessons while Joshua was busy playing with the classmates, he became unable to perform some of the physical activities in the play ground and this earned him jeers and boos from a clique of 5 bullies in his class. The five boys called Joshua a cripple and called him all sorts of names away from the Physical Health teacher who was showing another group how to perform some skills at the far end of the field. Thomas, who emerged as the ring leader of the group went to a further extent of pushing Joshua who fell and bruised his head. When the teacher noticed what was happening, he came over and inquired what was happening. Joshua clearly narrated what happened and even told the teacher how the bullies called him a cripple. The teacher was emotionally disturbed and he called Thomas and informed him to see him after the Physical education lessons.
In the Office, Thomas and the five bullies denied to have ever called Joshua a cripple. Joshua was compelled to call upon some friends who witnessed the name calling to come and give evidence against them. After enough prove was obtained, the PHE teacher handed the case over to the Disciplinary teacher of the academy. Thomas and his four friends did not believe their eyes when the Disciplinary teacher handed them expulsion letters. They tried to plead their cases with the teacher but the teacher maintained his stand and told them his decision was final and it won’t be rescinded.
Three weeks after the boys were expelled, it so happened that their relatives conspired to have Joshua and her poor mother killed. After having finished Joshua’s home work, mother and son said the final Lord’s Prayer and prepared to go to sleep. No sooner had they slept than they heard voices saying outside loudly “You finished our sons and now it is our turn to revenge”. Mother and son became too worried and started wailing loudly which luckily attracted the attention of the neighbors. The neighbors quickly responded and came in quickly. They found the house had caught fire and the criminals had locked poor Prudence and her mother inside their hut. They quickly pushed the door inside and saved them. They rushed for water from the neighboring homes and luckily en...