Didier
“Though I had received braces and crutches at age four when I first got polio, by 1992 they had become too short and I was reduced to getting around on all fours. I stayed this way for 9 years because we didn’t have money to buy new canes and braces. It was very difficult and painful. By the time I reached the fourth year of secondary school I no longer wanted to go to school because it was so difficult for me to get there, especially when it had rained and the streets were all mud or when the sun was shining brightly making the ground extremely hot.ACDF [StandProud’s Congolese partner organization] paid for me to travel to Kinshasa…where I had to undergo an operation to re-straighten my legs, which had become bent through non-use. After the operation, I received the braces and crutches I had waited for during 9 years of suffering. Once again on my feet and walking upright, I began to realize that I could be useful to society. At first I was not anxious to return to school, but ACDF staff convinced me to give it a try and paid for my studies. Now I have successfully graduated from secondary school and am very happy. I am confident of my abilities, and proud of my accomplishments. I am now myself working for StandProud/ACDF. I have stayed on because I didn’t know that someone like me could become what I am today and want to help other youth with disabilities.”
