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News & Photos
Emmanuel Yeboah's Gift: "Keep on Pounding"
Emmanuel Yeboah’s gift to the McDonogh community was his presence. On October 7 and 8, the Ghanian hero whose inspiring story was told in the 2005 documentary “Emmanuel’s Gift,” spoke to large, awestruck crowds in the Ceres M. Horn Theatre.
Born without his right lower leg, Yeboah rode his bicycle 610 kilometers across his native Ghana in 2001 to prove that people with disabilities should not be considered society’s throwaways. He brought hope to his country by doing so.
“When you keep on pounding, so many things can change,” he said. "I believe that, through me, Ghana will change."
Yeboah told of how his mother, Comfort, was told to kill him when the boy was born disabled in 1977. She refused. Comfort carried her son on her back three miles to school each day.
When he grew too heavy for her to carry him, Yeboah hopped to school on one leg. He demonstrated for students, and invited groups on stage to try it.
“My mom said ‘Em, never give up. I take my mom’s advice. I had to do something to honor her,” Yeboah said.
Using food money to rent a bike—10 cents for 10 minutes—he taught himself to ride one-legged. He couldn’t afford a bike for the cross-country journey he wanted to take. After appealing unsuccessfully to Ghanian corporations—"They laughed at me," he said—Yeboah wrote a letter to the U.S.-based Challenged Athletes Foundation and received his bicycle.
Today Yeboah is credited with changing perceptions of the disabled in his native country. Since 2003, he has sent thousands of wheelchairs back to Ghana. His dream is to secure sponsors to manufacture wheelchairs there.
"When you do good things, then people will support you," Yeboah said.
Students of all ages responded to Yeboah’s warmth and passion. "I'm inspired by his determination to do more with his life. It makes me want to do more with my life," said Sydney M. '14.
They lined up to ask him questions, pose with him for pictures, and have him sign autographs. One asked Yeboah if he ever said, “I can’t do it” when he was riding across Ghana. “No, I never say that in my life...ever. Always have courage and think to yourself, "I can do it."
"He made me realize that anyone can have a goal and accomplish it." Kayleigh P. '14
Added Kevin M. ’14, “We can make a difference if we try.”
Yeboah's visit was made possible by the Herbert Bearman Foundation in memory of Jill K. Bearman '88, who lost her courageous battle with cystic fibrosis in 1986. His talk was the first in the new Character in Action Lecture Series.
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Emmanuel Yeboah’s gift to the McDonogh community was his presence. On October 7 and 8, the Ghanian hero whose inspiring story was told in the 2005 documentary “Emmanuel’s Gift,” spoke to large, awestruck crowds in the Ceres M. Horn Theatre.
Born without his right lower leg, Yeboah rode his bicycle 610 kilometers across his native Ghana in 2001 to prove that people with disabilities should not be considered society’s throwaways. He brought hope to his country by doing so.
“When you keep on pounding, so many things can change,” he said. "I believe that, through me, Ghana will change."
Yeboah told of how his mother, Comfort, was told to kill him when the boy was born disabled in 1977. She refused. Comfort carried her son on her back three miles to school each day.
When he grew too heavy for her to carry him, Yeboah hopped to school on one leg. He demonstrated for students, and invited groups on stage to try it.
“My mom said ‘Em, never give up. I take my mom’s advice. I had to do something to honor her,” Yeboah said.
Using food money to rent a bike—10 cents for 10 minutes—he taught himself to ride one-legged. He couldn’t afford a bike for the cross-country journey he wanted to take. After appealing unsuccessfully to Ghanian corporations—"They laughed at me," he said—Yeboah wrote a letter to the U.S.-based Challenged Athletes Foundation and received his bicycle.
Today Yeboah is credited with changing perceptions of the disabled in his native country. Since 2003, he has sent thousands of wheelchairs back to Ghana. His dream is to secure sponsors to manufacture wheelchairs there. "When you do good things, then people will support you," Yeboah said.
Students of all ages responded to Yeboah’s warmth and passion. "I'm inspired by his determination to do more with his life. It makes me want to do more with my life," said Sydney M. '14.
They lined up to ask him questions, pose with him for pictures, and have him sign autographs. One asked Yeboah if he ever said, “I can’t do it” when he was riding across Ghana. “No, I never say that in my life...ever. Always have courage and think to yourself, "I can do it."
"He made me realize that anyone can have a goal and accomplish it." Kayleigh P. '14
Added Kevin M. ’14, “We can make a difference if we try.”
Yeboah's visit was made possible by the Herbert Bearman Foundation in memory of Jill K. Bearman '88, who lost her courageous battle with cystic fibrosis in 1986. His talk was the first in the new Character in Action Lecture Series.