Aishatu Yahaya, a blind woman from Dangi, in Kanam local government of Plateau State. She is among nine children of her parents. She lost her sight due to measles infection when she was eight years old. She is married and a mother of four children.
In this interview, she told our correspondents Bulus Izang and Joshua Yenle how she was not able to acquire western education due to her parents ignorant about the importance of western education.
TQM. You lost your sight at school attending age, were you able to go to school as a child?
My parents were not enlightening enough to understand the importance of western education in the life of a child, more especially, in the life of a child with disability. For this reason, I did not have formal education. However, I had small Islamic education.
TQM. You did not have the privileged of having western education, are you creating that opportunity for your children?
We (me and my husband) have provided opportunity for our children to have western education. We are working hard to sponsor them, two of the four have completed their secondary education, while two are still in primary school.
TQM. Two of your children have completed their secondary education, what are your plans for them?
It is my wish that they go for higher institutions but for now, we don’t have the financial ability to enroll them. May be in the future when God makes a way for us.
TQM. What work are you engaged in to earn a living?
I process rice for people by cooking it and get paid for it. I also run a small business of selling soup ingredients at home, items like, salt, pepper, Maggi, dawa- dawa, etc.
TQM. How did you get to fund your business from the start?
A woman who also was my neighbor, trained and empowered me, she taught me how to cook rice and gave me some good numbers of measures to start for some months, for about three months she allowed me to sale and keep the profit. I used some of the profit to start my business.
TQM. Is your husband a person with disability?
My husband is a Blind person.
TQM. What work is he doing?
He is a retired local government worker.
TQM. As a woman with disability, have your right been abused in any way, because of the disability, that you would love to mention?
Yes, a co-tenant, a woman has a little misunderstanding with my male child, as a mother, I was coming between them with the intention of resolving the matter, rather than explaining to me and listening to me, she got angry and hit me in the face, knowing very well, I cannot see her not to talk of fight her.
TQM. How did you respond to that?
I reported the matter to the police station, where the matter was addressed well in my favor.
TQM. Lastly, you can put a call for appeal to the public, if you have one.
I am appealing to the public to help me so that my two children could go to higher institution.
TQM. Thank you for speaking us
Thank you for coming to share my story
