Namibia: Work Humbles and Ennobles Disabled April

If you hear Lydia April speak, you will be captivated by the sweet lilt in her voice, but what would strike you the most is most probably her eloquence as she engages her audience in an open conversational way.

April is a very unusual woman. At 49 years of age she runs a bicycle-selling, repair and restoration business and employs a fellow disabled man she trained herself. Her story reflects her dedication and her strong spirit to achieve the impossible in the face of hardship. April is wheelchair-bound and has been so since 1981, but she is also an accomplished businesswoman, and most of all a married mother of two despite her physical disability. When you look at her you will see that her super smooth chocolate complexion matches her beautiful voice and it takes about a minute to notice that she is in fact a disabled woman. She was left paralysed from the waist down after a routine operation went wrong at the Tygerberg Hospital Trauma Centre in South Africa in 1981.

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