A Mother's Love

Once upon a time, in the village of Mempeasem, it was considered a taboo to give birth to a physically challenged child.

The chief who reigned at that time disliked children with disabilities, to the extent that he was able to convince his elders to pass a law forbidding the presence of such children in the village.

He told them such children were a curse sent to humans as punishment for offending the gods. Therefore, under the law, before those children reached age five, they were sent to the evil forest and abandoned after the chief priest had performed certain rituals.

It happened that Eno Ama Nyarkoah and Agya Kwabena Nsiah had been married for years without a child. Finally, Eno Nyarkoah  conceived and bore a beautiful baby girl called Oforiwaa. Sadly, two years after the birth of Oforiwaa, it was realised that she was disabled from the waist and as a result, could not walk.

Eno Nyarkoah decided to keep it a secret but somehow, the whole village got to know of it. When the chief and elders heard of it, as custom demanded, Oforiwaa was supposed to be sent to the evil forest.

However, Eno Nyarkoah stuck to her guns and insisted that she would not allow her only child to be abandoned in the forest just because she was a cripple.

The chief and the elders, therefore, banished Eno and her daughter from the village. Eno Nyarkoah was happy at the turn of events and assumed that Agya Nsiah would support her but he did not.  Instead, he told Eno Nyarkoah that if she would not respect the custom of the land, then he would not accompany her.

Eno Nyarkoah, therefore, left Mempeasem for a village called Meniagye which was very far away. Eno Nyarkoah knew a great deal about herbal plants and their usefulness, therefore, she started applying the herbs on the sick in that village and soon, a lot of people came to her  to seek treatment for their ailments.

Oforiwaa began to learn from her mother so that she could be of assistance. By the time she reached her teens, she knew a great deal about herbal plants and the many ailments that they cured. Because of the good work they did, Meniagye village became popular and people came from far and near to seek their help.

Soon, age caught up with Eno Nyarkoah, therefore, she could not work as much as she should. Oforiwaa, therefore,  took over everything.

Meanwhile, at Mempeasem, the chief whose reign saw the passage of the law that did not recognise physically challenged people, fell seriously ill.  His elders did all they could but he did not recover.

He learnt of the great herbalist at Meniagye and decided to go there with some of his elders to seek a cure for his illness. They set off very early that day. When they got to the compound of Eno Nyarkoah, they found only Oforiwaa there because by then her mother had gone to the forest for herbal plants. After telling her their mission, Oforiwaa decided to help them.

As would be expected because of the chief's negative perception about people with disabilities, he was reluctant to take the concoction given to him by Oforiwaa. It took a lot of prodding from his elders before he did. After drinking the concoction, he went to his hut to sleep and by the time he woke up that evening he felt totally renewed. He took another dose that evening before finally retiring to sleep. The next morning he was completely healed.

Happily, he and his entourage decided to go and inform Oforiwaa about the happy news. It was there that they met Eno Nyarkoah, who was busily washing some herbs she had gathered from the forest. The chief and his entourage immediately recognised Eno Nyarkoah.

The moment Eno Nyarkoah asked them what they were doing in her house, they realised that Oforiwaa, who had restored the health of the chief was her daughter. The chief and elders then begged for their forgiveness.

Oforiwaa  was confused about all that was going on. Her mother, therefore, chose that moment to explain to her the story surrounding her life. The chief and his elders realised how immature they had been in passing that law.

Immediately, they acknowledged that disability was not a curse and realised the harm they had caused to all the innocent children they abandoned in the forest.

They decided to abolish that cruel law as soon as they got to Mempeasem and pleaded with  Oforiwaa and her mother to return to their kith and kin.

Indeed, when the chief and his elders returned to Mempeasem, they abolished the law on disability and today, the people of Mempeasem live peacefully with the physically and mentally challenged.

Disability is not an inability. It is not the fault of a child to be born with a physical or mental challenge.  Let us not shun such people;  rather, we should treat them with respect and love because given the right opportunities they can contribute to the development of the nation just as all others do

Henrietta Oforiwaa Darko,
T.I. Ahmadiyya JHS 'B',
Asokwa, Kumasi.