John Gochot Jaja is a person with physical disability, his right leg was amputated. He is from Kabwir district of Kanke local government of Plateau State. He attended RCM Primary School, Kabwir, after completion, He proceeded to Government Secondary school Kabwir. He got married shortly after the completion of my secondary education which put a stop to his formal education. The marriage is blessed with five children.
In a chat with our correspondents, Bulus Izang and Joshua Yenle when they visited Kabwir as part of our Oxfam Voice project, Connecting Our Voices To The World, he spoke about his amputation and how he coped after it.
TQM. What happened that your leg got amputated?
In the year 2014, I was involved in a motorcycle accident on my way to Pankshin from kabwir, which resulted to the amputation of my right leg.
TQM. What work are you doing to provide for your family, after the amputation?
I am now a cobbler, I mend shoes for people, sometimes, I make new shoes.
TQM. How did you come about doing this work?
After I became an amputee, I was privileged to be trained in shoe making free at WAYE Foundation owned by the former first lady of Plateau state, Ngo Talatu Jonah Jang. In 2015, I was given a starter pack to establish the vocation I was trained on. And that is what I am doing up till now.
TQM. What other work are you doing apart from your work as a shoe cobbler?
I am not doing any other work outside this cobbler work.
TQM. You had a later in life disability, do people discriminate against you because of the disability?
Yes, some of my friends that we used to be very close before the accident, we are no longer close because of the disability.
TQM. What is the position of your children with regards to school?
My five children are schooling, the first one is in FCE Pankshin, two are in secondary school and the last two are in primary school.
TQM. Who is paying for their education?
I do pay and their mother is supporting me
TQM. Is your wife a person with disability?
No.
TQM. What line of work is she doing?
She is a business woman that deals on the sale of food grains.
TQM. What form of assistance have you ever received from either the government or other persons?
I have received help in form of training and finance from WAYE Foundation and I am very grateful to them and to God for given me that opportunity.
TQM. Lastly, what appeal do you have to make to people who are reading your story?
My appeal is this, I should be help with the payment of my children’s school fees and some tools like the machine that is use to file shoes and a generator, this would enable me to be making new shoe for sales.
TQM. Thank you sir, for you sharing your time and story with us.
Thank you too.
