Irrespective of his disability Airtel was overwhelmed by his ability |12 April 2022

Few among the items that he received

Kenny Jules is a 39-year-old male residing in the West of Mahé and the youngest in a family of five.  Kenny was born healthy and successfully pursued his studies in the same constituency.  Upon completion of his secondary education, Kenny decided to further his knowledge in construction by joining a company in that field.

“The job satisfaction that I enjoy daily reinforced my dream to have my own construction firm,” said Kenny.

Unfortunately, not everyone is lucky to have his/her dream realised. At the age of 22, while Kenny was working on a site, he suffered an unbearable back pain which resulted to his admission to the nearest health centre. From there, he was hospitalised to undergo advanced examination and diagnostic. Kenny’s situation worsened as he developed high fever and other medical complications during his hospitalisation.

Despite several attempts by the medical professionals to put Kenny back on track, his health situation remained uncertain. Following his eventual diagnosis with paraplegia, Kenny was released and referred to a physiotherapist for several sessions but luck was not on his side.

“I could not believe what happened. I was depressed and thought it was the end of the world for me,” added Kenny.

Considering his health condition, the young man was assisted with a caretaker and provided with invalidity benefits, courtesy of local authorities. Kenny had his sister to care for him but this was for a short period of time.

“She could not care for me the way she would have wanted to as she has children and other domestic and financial commitments. So I had to accept her decision to opt for a well-paid job as she had her own life to live.”

Months later, the disabled found himself without a caretaker. He could only obtain the help of his sister to prepare whatever he needed before she would go to work. Kenny was left to fend for himself as he was confined to his wheel chair. When asked why he was not making any attempt to secure the services of a care taker, he replied: “So far I’m trying to manage as much as I can. I don’t want to burden the government as there are others who need such assistance.”

Despite his desperation, Kenny could muster the strength and determination to indulge in an occupation that would keep him busy and allow him to gain additional income besides the invalidity benefits that he was receiving. 

At a young age and in the same wheelchair Kenny engaged in theoretical studies in technical software on line from where his career started to blossom. Through his continued development, he has been able to fix devices from the comfort of his wheelchair. 

By word of mouth, Kenny started to receive customers. Unfortunately, he

could not do much for them as he did not have the essential tools and facilities at his disposal.

“I’m not ambitious. I just want to fulfil my career and help others in need,” he stated.

During our visit at his parent’s house, Kenny expressed his desire to have a comfortable/adjustable desk to support his posture while carrying out his work as he currently has to bend from his wheelchair by using a small table to fix the devices. This was clearly affecting his condition as well as being time consuming. He also needed a cupboard where to store his tools and equipment. 

Better late than never, Airtel surprised Kenny by attending to his request (cupboard for storage, essential tools, flexible table, LED lamp etc…) He testified that such donation was a long awaited dream which has been finally fulfilled. He further stated that he is now in a better position to receive more customers and improve upon his service delivery which in turn will generate more income to complement what he is already receiving. 

He thanked Airtel wholeheartedly for such gesture.

He expressed his willingness to enrol on the Airtel app to assist customers in his region with the payment of bills, recharge, utilities and others as this will also bring another benefit to his income.

He ended by conveying a strong message to the youth: “Please make good use of all the opportunities that come your way. Do not anguish in life despite challenges. There are solutions for delinquents. Be patient, have faith and remember that everything good takes time.”

Contributed