Gbessay Kamara, a war amputee, is determined to change the conventional image and popular preconceptions of people with disability. Using education as the ladder, Gbessay Kamara wants to climb the apogee of success – fanning his burning desire to become an accountant.

Gbessay, like other war amputees, was hit by the country’s brutal civil war. At age 7, in Kono District, he was thwacked by the fragment of a whammed grenade in their hideout, leaving his leg likely for amputation. Gbessay’s leg was badly injured and had to be amputated, according to what his parents told him.

The harmattan wind of the postwar era comes with several challenges for Gbessay Kamara. While he and other amputees grapple with the psychological consequences of amputation, Gbessay fights tooth and nail to defy the odds around his condition that pose as stumbling blocks to achieving his goal.

“I am not going to allow what they call disability to stop me from becoming a successful person. As far as l am concerned, my being an amputee is a condition; not a reason to stop me from harnessing my potential,” Gbessay Kamara said.

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Gbessay took to the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) a few years ago. After getting three credits below the requisite requirement for university entry in Sierra Leone, he opted to retake the examination. Unfortunately, he was not shortlisted for the recently concluded West African Senior School Certificate Examination.

“When l took the WASSC Examination a few years ago, l had three credits. Since l want to and my result does not meet the benchmark for a degree in that area, l chose to rewrite the exam. Sadly, l was not shortlisted for it,” he said.

“I wish to retake WASSCE next academic year,” he continued.

The self-motivated amputee, who wishes to become an accountant, seeks the support of government and nongovernmental organizations to help make his dream come true.

“Instead of confirming people’s stereotype for amputees (going out to beg), l will therefore ask government accounting and nongovernmental organizations to help support my education,” he told Sierraloaded in an exclusive interview.

After the death of his father, who used to shoulder his financial burdens, Gbessay began to fix and repair touchlights and radios. As a handyman, he has been using his skills to make ends meet and to support his education. However, the availability of electricity and the emergency of sophisticated phones have cut short his work, as people no longer bring lights and radios for repair.

“Almost all our phones have radio. And, what’s more, everyone has light in Amputee Camp. So, people bring neither touch lights nor radios for repair again. This has greatly affected my work,” he said.

In addition to his knack for education, Gbessay has artful skills: football and cycling. He plays for the amputee football team at Amputee Camp in Makeni.

“I am a skilful player. Everyone here can attest to that. I am doing all this just to prove that disability is not inability,” he said.