Amputee overcomes adversity

By BOSON WILSON
DESPITE missing his right arm due to an amputation, Judah Wamamberi says he may have lost a limb but he did not lose his desire for knowledge.
“My right hand was amputated but they did not remove the knowledge I have,” the 26-year-old said as he graduated from the University of Papua New Guinea on Friday with a bachelor’s degree in science majoring in environmental science and geography.
Wamamberi lost his right arm while a student of Bishop Leo Secondary School and had to quickly adapt to life as an amputee.
He said he was forced to learn to write with his left hand and his journey as a disabled student was challenging as he had to reorient himself to life without a right arm.
“I was in secondary school when my right arm was amputated,” he said.
“So I had to get use to writing with my left hand because I was initially a right hander.”
Wamamberi was fully functional until he lost his right hand and that is when he limits himself to some social activities but not in education.
“I lived with my older sister for almost two years during the recovery stage and seeing my friends prospering gave me a reason to continue my education,” he said.
He realised that he could not continue to rely on his family for everything and there were goals that he still wanted to achieve in life.
“When I got back to school, I realised that I still had the ability to do well and that maybe God had a plan for me so I made the adjustments and progressed this far,” he said.
Wamamberi said his greatest challenges as a university student was adapting to fieldwork that was conducted by his school.
He urged people who had experienced similar situations of having a limb amputated that one could still achieve their goals and learn to live with their disability and have a fulfilling life.