Emmanuel's Gift(Movie, 2005)

Filmmakers Lisa Lax and Nancy Stern capture Emmanuel Yeboah's heart, spirit, and determination through the 2005 documentary Emmanuel’s Gift, based on the true story of Emmanuel's life solely dedicated to making change. Narrated by Oprah Winfrey, the documentary follows Emmanuel on his journey to change the political and societal norms wrapped around disabled people in his home country of Ghana. Being that he was born with a deformed right leg, Emmanuel witnessed firsthand his whole life how disabled people were treated and viewed in the eyes of society. Children born with disabilities in Ghana are often abandoned or, in more extreme cases, killed. If they do survive, they often become poor beggars on the street. He, on the other hand, grew up in a small home with his mother and family. His father abandoned his mother when he found out that his son had a deformed leg. Emmanuel shined shoes every day for $2, refusing to let the prejudices against disabled people get to his head. One day he put in a grant request to the Challenged Athletes Foundation based in California all the way over in the United States. His request was not one for money, but rather for a bike that he would later receive to travel nearly 380 miles across the entire country of Ghana on to sh... ()