Persons with Disabilities of Cameroon: Albert

April 13th, 2016 by | Tags: , , , | No Comments »

During the last seven months of my Peace Corps service, I am featuring photographs and stories of several persons with disabilities living in Cameroon. All the photos are part of a series called “Persons with Disabilities of Cameroon.” The goal of presenting photographs and their stories is to create better awareness about the plights that persons with disabilities face in a developing country. When I return to the US, I hope to exhibit this series in a gallery and publish a book to educate others about persons with disabilities living in developing countries as this topic is so rarely discussed in the media.

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The son of Joseph, Albert, happens to have a disability too.  His disability was caused by polio which he had when he was two years old in 1974.  “He was already standing and walking before he became sick,” said his father.  His father and mother who happened to be a midwife working in the hospital took him to the hospital for examination when their son fell ill.

When the parents took Albert to the hospital and learned that he had contracted polio, according to Joseph, the doctor told him and his mother that 22 other children who were living in a special compound for police officers and families called “police barracks” in Buea became ill with polio too.  Albert and his family were living in police barracks when Joseph was working as a police officer.

After Albert had polio, he could no longer stand and walk but he relearned to walk and stand.  He can walk with a limp.  All other 22 children from the police barracks became disabled too.  Joseph said that three of them walked on their knees while the rest walked with a limp like Albert.

When he was in primary school, children made fun of him by imitating the way he walked.  He completed primary school but didn’t go to secondary school.  His father didn’t have money for secondary school because he was suspended from police job for five years.  The suspension was related to when he took the case to high court in Yaounde.

Albert cannot play sports.  When he works, he has chest pains and pain in his legs due to difficulty standing up for a long period of time.  He works as a carpenter.  He feels that he takes longer time to finish work than a person without disability.  This results in making fewer items and earning less money.  He said he would like to be able to buy certain machines that he cannot afford to buy.  He added that he wishes he could drive a moto bike or a car but he can’t because he can’t push the breaks.

He also said that he feels the pressure of high expectation to bring in a good amount of money for the family.  He is married with four small children. He struggles to do farm work because it’s physically challenging.

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