A new wheelchair is fresh hope for Joseph

Monday, November 21, 2016

By Agatha Mali, Zambia Communications

An orphan and physically disabled, life has not been easy for Joseph. When Joseph started school, his friends had to carry him on their backs. Yet, there were times when they were not around and Joseph used to crawl so that he wouldn’t miss any lesson. Joseph’s struggles came to an end when he received a new wheelchair from World Vision.

“There used to be times when I felt like giving up on life,” says 16-year-old Joseph. 
“I could not take it anymore. Seeing my friends playing, going to school and doing things on their own used to make me sad because I couldn’t walk or do things on my own.” 

An orphan and physically disabled, life has not been easy for Joseph. When Joseph started school, his friends had to carry him on their backs. 
Yet, there were times when they were not around and Joseph used to crawl so that he wouldn’t miss any lesson.

Two years ago, in 2014, Joseph was excited to receive a wheelchair from a church. While it helped him get around, the wheels were not in good shape. As time passed, the condition of the wheelchair became so bad that Joseph put sticks and planks around that chair so that he can be supported to sit.



“The moment I thought my help had come through was the moment it went away because the wheelchair started giving me problems,” he explains. Joseph says his academic performance started going down because he started losing interest in school.

“There came a time when I totally lost interest in education because I thought there was no point of me going to school days after I missed other lessons especially when I couldn’t understand the new topics, but thanks to my headmaster who kept on encouraging and assuring me that one day all would be well,” Joseph narrates.

And indeed, things did improve. 

Joseph’s struggles came to an end when he received a new wheelchair from World Vision. “I now feel like I am in a new world, everything has changed and all the challenges I used to go through are now a thing of a past. This wheelchair is now my new pair of legs which can take me anywhere I want to go,” Joseph says excitedly.

Joseph says he wants to become a doctor when he completes school so that he can bring hope to other vulnerable children in is community the same way World Vision has brought back his lost hopes. “I am very grateful to World Vision, my head teacher and my friends for the love and support they have continued to show me. I shall forever be grateful,” Joseph says with a smile.

“World Vision has given me hope to live longer and achieve my dreams,” Joseph concludes.