You May Be Down, But You Are Not Out!

By Esther Olorunshola

Growing up was a miserable experience for me. My childhood days were nothing good to write about and most times, I wished I was never part of history. Living without a father nor a mother made things worse as I had to fend for myself without the help of any relatives.

Ours was one small and happy family until July 19, 1995 when everything took a U-turn. I was alone with my parents in the car. We were on our way to the beach to mark my 10th birthday. I sat at the owner's corner while my mother sat close to my father. Out of excitement, probably because it was long we went to the beach, I mistakenly covered my dad's face with a cloth, and before he could uncover his face, he lost control of the steering, swerved to the bush and the rest is history.

My name is Goodwill and I am a paraplegic. At age 7, I was struck by mild poliomyelitis, the condition, however, was worsened by the accident that claimed my parents' lives. My uncles saw me as a huge liability and threw me out of the house claiming they could not live with a 'vegetable', who has no future. The only thing I was left with was my wheelchair. Hence, at age 10, I became a paralysed urchin.

In the school I attended, I had just two friends, Geoffrey and Gideon. We were best of friends and we did most things in common. Geoffrey's story is kind of complicated. He was dumped in a dungeon and picked up by a wealthy woman.  He enjoyed life also for the first 10 years until he discovered that his supposed mother was a ritualist and he was next in line. He, therefore, had to escape to save his life.  Gideon, on the other hand, is from a polygamous home. His mother was the last of five wives, so, she had the least authority. His step-mothers maltreated him like a slave. When he could no longer endure it, he had to leave the house.

We were homeless and also physically challenged. Geoffrey was one-eyed, while Gideon was dumb. We received care and attention from no one. Our mates made mockery of us and made us feel inferior but we kept on encouraging ourselves that the storm would soon be over. After school each day, we worked for a man that decided to pay our school fees as our wages but did not bother himself about our feeding and accommodation. We had to do extra jobs, and even sell in traffic jams just to survive.

Life was harsh on us. We were not dull students but because nobody listened to us when we spoke, we decided to keep our ideas to ourselves. February 28, 1998 happened to be our memorable day in school. We were asked us to write an essay of what we wished to become. We got back home (under the bridge) and we started writing. We all wrote our minds down, praying it came to pass someday.

The next day, with great anger, our teacher walked into the class. After a moment of silence, he shouted, "Can the three unrealistic musketeers come out here?!" With fear we stepped out, he gave us our scripts to read to the class. Geoffrey and I read ours while he assisted Gideon in reading his. He then looked straight into our eyes and said, "You fools should wake up from your slumber! Goodwill, with this condition of yours do you think you can ever become a doctor?" "So, you have not asked yourself, who wants to be treated by a paraplegic?", he continued. Turning to Geoffrey he said, "You wish to become a civil engineer, right? Well, that can only happen in your dreams! Where will you get the money from or you think people would love to award contracts to a one-eyed man?". "As for you Gideon, were you sleeping when you were writing this essay? How can a dumb idiot like you wish to become a pilot?! You are just deceiving yourselves", he said.

"You better stop daydreaming. Everything you wrote are all fantasies and it is my work to set you on the right path. Well, as you can see on your scripts, your grade is F, l give you till tomorrow to represent a more realistic essay like you becoming a conductor, fisherman or a farmer, if not be prepared to fail this year", he concluded. We had never been discouraged and humiliated in our entire lives. The man sounded so certain that we will not make it, but we summoned courage and repeated what we wrote the previous day and added: " Keep your grades, while we keep our dreams"

We graduated from high school in the year 2002 thanks to the man who kept his promise and saw us through secondary school level. We wished to further our education; so, we decided to work and save up some money. Getting a job for ourselves was quite challenging as people turned us down due to our disabilities. After a long search, we found one whose pay was discouraging but just had to manage.  After 3 years of working, the money we had was only enough to get us some JAMB forms. Most times, when our classmates passed by and saw us packing dirts, they made mockery of us saying, "Are these not the doctor, civil engineer and pilot? Is this meant to be your work stations?". The torment was becoming unbearable but our desire for success was far greater than our fear of failure.

May 12, 2005 was the day our story changed. Gideon and Geoffrey were cutting grasses on a man's field, and I was cleaning up the cut areas when we got attracted to a poster on the wall with the inscription: 1000 words of creative writing inscribed with the title: "KEEPING YOUR DREAMS ALIVE! - 1000 words of creative writing". Knowing fully well that the story of our lives was more than a thousand words, we decided to give it a try. We worked as a team and to the Glory of God, we came out tops. We were awarded full scholarship to study anywhere in West Africa.

Presently I am a renowned doctor with so many honorary awards. Just last week, the teacher who almost shattered my dreams rushed to my hospital with his son who is epileptic. After treating his son, I went to the reception to see him. He recognised me at once and asked, "Excuse me sir, are you a twin?" I laughed and replied, "I am the same Goodwill you advised to become a conductor.  He went down on his knees crying and apologizing. He then said; "No doubt dreams do come true". Geoffrey and Gideon are doing fine as well. They turned out to be what they wanted to be because they were not discouraged.

Dear friends, that you are now at the most difficult part of your lives does not mean that the game of life is over for you. It can only be over if you so decide. Imagine what would have become of Goodwill, Gideon and Geoffrey if they had thrown in the towel after the humiliation they got from the very person, who was meant to inspire them. The fame and honour they now enjoy would not have been. Nature saw their sincere desire to succeed and helped them. It is said that if your intentions are pure, the forces of nature will always come together to favour you. In other words, if there is a will, there will definitely be a way.

Many of us have dropped in our grades in school, even far below our own expectations, and are doubting our abilities to graduate with a 1st Class, or 2nd Class divisions (no prejudice to other divisions of passes) or even gain admission into tertiary institutions. Some of you have lost your lucrative jobs, while others are struggling with their once enviable marriages, businesses and characters. While some are thinking of quitting businesses, others are about to walk out of their marriages and some are even having suicidal thoughts. Before you make that final decision, stop and think twice, bearing in mind that you are not alone in this battle. Do you remember Job from the Holy Scriptures? Despite all that befell him, he still did not allow himself to be used as a tool in the hands of the devil.

In conclusion, there is no great man without a story, as challenges are said to be the food of champions. It is said that if you do not fall, you can never rise. If you do not suffer lack, you will never appreciate abundance. You need to experience failure to really understand what success means. So, though you may be down, it is not yet time to throw in the towel, because you are not out!

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