Blind man: In many societies in Africa, disabled persons are seen as a burden with little or no help from their families to be able to live a normal life.
This situation has left many of these disabled persons in a bad condition either as beggars on the street or they die out of hunger.
A visually impaired Samuel Nyadu Kwasi has defied all odds to live above disability as against the case of many disabled people found on the street.
The blind man has for the past 15years engaged in a coconut business which has enabled him to cater for himself and his family.
The business of the 52year old man requires him to use sharp cutlass to rip the husk from a coconut before selling to customers, a business venture perceived as a reserve of persons without any form of visual impairment.
Heading a family of eight, seven children and a wife, blind man Samuel Nyadu Kwasi said:
“I started this thing about 15 years now and in fact, it has helped me a lot to look after my children, wife and also myself. I myself climb the Coconut tree and cut the coconut down and after that, I pick it, carry it to the roadside and transport to Akropong after paying the owners.â€
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Speaking to StarrFM, he stated that his disability gives him a competitive advantage as many consumers prefer to buy from him out of sympathy, a situation he says is booming his business.
However, according to him, despite this seemingly good news, he faces several challenges including access to transportation and hassle in getting coconut fruits from owners in surrounding villages due to unfair competition.
He is, therefore, appealing to philanthropists to support him with at least a tricycle to enable him to convey coconut fruits from the villages to Akropong to sell.
Some Customers of Nyadu who were spotted buying from him said they were amazed seeing a blind man doing the work faster and perfectly even than those without visual impairment, a skill and unique quality they say attract them to buy more often from him.
Mahela Narh, Headmistress of the Akropong School for the Blind says she is not surprised at the efforts of Gyadu because students are oriented and trained to push harder in life since disability is not inability.
“That is why I want society to demystify this primitive mindset about persons with disability and instead of killing or abandoning they are disabled children in the bush, should rather bring them here; we will shape them to be useful to society. Nyadu is among a number of students excelling in many areas, we have teachers, lecturers, businessmen, Radio presenters, DJs etc. who are all blind and came hereâ€.
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