medical equipment
Nigeria: Crippled and In Need
- Rabi before mobility
- Rabi with new wheelchair
CBN.com – NIGERIA – Rabi was born with a speech impediment and crippled in both legs. Her father rejected her from birth and divorced her mother. In time, Rabi’s mother remarried and sent her to be raised by her great grandmother.
This little girl endured much emotional and physical turmoil. She couldn’t walk. When she spoke, people couldn’t understand what she was saying. She was discarded by the ones who are supposed to love her the most. Fortunately, her great grandmother sent her to Model Teaching Centre, a school for physically challenged men, women, and children. It became the one place where she fit in and was able to make friends. She attended for many years.
Rabi was in her early 30s when her great grandmother died and her life changed dramatically. She had to leave the center and live a very isolated life with a distant relative. With no wheelchair and no other way to get around, Rabi was left alone at home much of the time. Her guardian found it too difficult to transport her. Rabi felt helpless and alone; she longed to be back at school and around people.
Just when she was about to give up all hope, she was treated to a trip to Model Teaching Centre on the International Day for the Disabled in Nigeria. CBN’s Operation Blessing donated wheelchairs, hearing aids and insecticide-treated mosquito nets to the school on that day. At age 35, Rabi received her first wheelchair! Most of the other students had never received such gifts of care and compassion in their lives either.
Visibly overcome, an overjoyed Rabi could only wave and offer a mumbled ‘thank you’ between huge beams of delight as she wheeled herself about in her new wheelchair. To add to her joy, her guardian was so impressed with OB’s gesture, that she promised that Rabi would resume school at the Model Teaching Centre the following day, now that she had a means of moving around!
Rabi’s joy knows no bounds and, as her teacher Nenrot Gomwalk put it, “…her tears have been wiped away by what you have done for her today….”
CBN Partners provide practical help for families in need. This often opens hearts to receive the message of Christ. If you are not a partner, please join with us today. For a small investment of only $20 a month, you can bring help and a message of hope to people throughout the world. Become a member today!
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