I want to become a teacher!

“Mama, why can I not do that?”, little Yasmina asked her mother one day. And she pointed at her brother, who is a year younger than her. The boy ran and jumped around.

That was about two years ago, when Yasmina was three. She could still only crawl. Her parents had tears in their eyes, having no answer for her question. They loved their daughter, without doubt, but how could they explain to her that she might never be able to walk?

“When Yasmina was born five years ago, she had an open back (spina bifida) and her legs were not straight but crossed and pulled up towards her body”, her mother, a teacher, recalls.

“I was very sad and worried about that. But a nurse gave me hope. She said: ‘Stand by your child, it is worth it.’ Yasmina had a surgery that same day and her back was closed. Luckily we already lived in the town with a real hospital back then, not in a remote village… At the hospital a doctor recommended after the surgery to contact PRAHN. He said they were professionals who would take care of the deformities of her legs and also support Yasmina in general. That’s how I got to know PRAHN.”

When Yasmina was three years old, PRAHN took over her case – and a long therapy started. The position of her legs could be corrected without surgery, which meant that her legs were put in a cast for several weeks. After that, PRAHN transferred her to a partner hospital in Niger’s capital Niamey. There the girl’s ankles were straightened in a surgery. After that her legs were put into cast again which was changed every two weeks, altogether for a period of three months.

“Such a correction needs time”, PRAHN rehabilitation workers told us.

“My daughter was really brave throughout the whole procedure. We were all so full of hope and joy at the thought that she would finally get some help”, her mother says.

Slowly, Yasmina learnt to walk on a walking frame. She also received fitted splints which were made for her at the orthopaedic workshop of PRAHN. Those splints made of hard plastic are supposed to support the legs and feet and to keep them in the right position. Seven months long Yasmina practised walking on the frame every day.

“It was amazing to watch her and to see how strong her will was. It was very hard work for her but you could also see how happy she was. Finally she could walk, just like her younger brother”, Sali Saley recalls. He is one of seven so called monitors who travel upcountry and search for people with disabilities in remote areas. They heighten the awareness in the villages, offer professional help to the patients and support their rehabilitation at home.

In the beginning the PRAHN rehabilitation worker visited Yasmina regularly. He practised walking with her, first at the frame, later with crutches. She still needs those crutches today.

“It is hard to say if she will be able to walk all on her own one day. At the moment she still makes two steps at once and not one after the other. We will have to wait and see what the development is like. Maybe at some point she will only need one crutch…”physiotherapist Issoufou Alzouma says. He is the head of “Hope House” in Niamey, a rehabilitation centre which belongs to PRAHN and is also supported by CBM, and the place where Yasmina learned to make her first steps after the surgery.

After the surgery, Yasmina started to attend the infant class at school. Today she is in Grade One. We meet her in her classroom. Like all the other children she is sitting at a desk and is copying something from the blackboard.

57 children attend Grade One. Teacher Salamatou is happy about Yasmina’s performance: “She is the best in her class. A really bright girl”, Ms Salamatou says. But if Yasmina’s mother wasn’t a teacher at the same school herself, she would probably not have had the chance to learn here.

“Yes, I have to admit that Yasmina is only at this school due to my connections here. She cannot walk to school on her own. That’s why I have to carry her the one kilometre to school every morning. As she is growing she also gets heavier. I don’t know how long I will be able to do that. But she cannot manage such distances alone…”

It’s break time and the children run out to the school yard. At the door of the classroom you can already see one of the problems Yasmina is facing every day - the step onto the yard is very high and classmates have to support her whenever she moves in or out, otherwise she would need to crawl; during the lesson we could see that the blackboard was much too high for Yasmina.

In the classroom, whenever she is requested to write something onto the board, she needs to be put on a chair and be held.

“All these experiences are new to me, too: steps, blackboard – I've never had to consider such things as obstacles”, teacher Salamatou says. “However, I focus on integrating Yasmina completely into the class. PRAHN made us aware of different kinds of disabilities and in the higher grades this issue is a topic of the lessons, too.” There are also two other children with disabilities at that school who are cared for by PRAHN.

Meanwhile, Yasmina is sitting together with two friends from higher grades in the shade, eating her breakfast. Yes, she seems to be happy and fully integrated.

What does Yasmina want to become one day? There is no doubt for the girl: “A teacher”, she says and smilingly looks towards her mother. It will be a long way, but with the support of PRAHN she will make it.

Rehabilitation worker Sani Saley still visits Yasmina regularly to see her progress and to practise walking with her. Her mother is happy: “It’s a miracle for me that my daughter is learning how to walk. A few years ago I would never have dreamt of it. I’m so grateful for it. Yes, I thank all those people who made this possible and offered a whole new chance to my daughter and her life.”