Before I became disabled, I was a farmer and also doing small businesses such as selling bananas and other agriculture products in the market.
I was hit by a very fast running bicycle and my leg got fractured badly. Even though I was taken to the hospital and treated, my leg never fully recovered--maybe because I was old.
My community and the society around did not treat me as badly as they do others when I became disabled because they knew what I was able to do before the accident.
I can still do some activities I used to do. People bring bananas to my home which I buy and then sell from the road close to my home. I cannot walk to the market as before.
I do not want to stay home all the time. I prefer to walk, even though I struggle, so that I can make a living as much as I can.
I am thankful to have BDS working those of us with disabilities. Discrimination is disappearing and now we are honored and respected because our community can see that people with disabilities can work, earn money, and live without begging. This honor and respect came only when BDS started working with us and helped us learn to work together and make ourselves known.
BDS encouraged us to grow mushrooms, weave mats to sell, and even found a market for our products. We eat the mushrooms we grow; and I believe I look healthy because I eat them. Now we can buy soap, salt, and other things we need.
We appreciated how BDS brought us Fabien, a community mobilizer with a disability, who taught us about living with a disability and who understands what it is like to live in our shoes.
Jeanine