There is a hero in every soul, an angel in every place and Mr. Kwadwo Adu is one of them.
Born blind in Akropong- Akuapem, a town in the Eastern region, Mr. Adu was rejected by his father and single-handedly raised by his mom.
His mom did farming and petty trading to enrol him in the school for the blind, Akropong. A place he found as his haven.
He learned to read and write using the braille from infancy up to his young adulthood at the school. He went back to his village after school, with hopes of getting a career, but the world wasn’t ready to receive an educated man that was visually impaired and so he came back to the school to be allowed to be with his people.
He was made a teacher in his alma mater and for 38 years Mr. Adu has been one of the strongest pillars in that school. He’s received and taught numerous visually impaired students.
Many have gone out to be lawyers, award-winning journalists, teachers, and so on.
There are categories of visually impaired students that the school admits. Not all of them are born blind, some lose their sight in their adult life and are brought to school.
These traumatized students are received by Mr. Adu and not only does he teach them how to read and write, but he also counsels them, and inspires and motivates them to focus on the present and not the past.
He is a man with great talent in music. He plays brass instruments precisely the tuba and percussion. He’s played at ceremonial events mainly in the Eastern Region and has played with the Ghana Police ceremonial band- Eastern band.
My interaction with this beautiful soul, made me realize how society forgets to celebrate the change-makers amongst us. How we easily enjoy the fruits of the tree and yet forget the root.
Mr. Adu is a root at the school of the blind, served and impacted many visually impaired lives, both young and old and yet he’s retiring in August 2022, without a place to go. He’s now struggling to buy a plot of land to build a home.
Despite everything, he’s still the light to many more students at the school and beyond. Being in his presence for a couple of minutes, he taught me how to guide a visually impaired person to climb and descend the staircase. He imparted to me so much information on how to be in their world and to see through their eyes.
When asked what message he has for people that can see, he said “ Spend time to know more about us and give us sympathy, not empathy. Educate us.”
Mr. Adu believes that educating anyone with a physical challenge will equip the person with the skill to work and earn an income and it will keep them out of the street as beggars.
He is such an amazing person who is happy to have turned his challenge into a tool of love to help his people.
For 38 years in the school, he’s been the closest thing to a father some of these visually impaired children could ever have and he deserves the accolades of the world. A soul that needs to be celebrated.
He sees the world in his own eyes and one day he hopes to visit the UK. Not all superheroes wear capes and Mr. Kwadwo Adu is certainly one of them.
