This year during the Student Association of Baraton University (SABU) award night at the University of Eastern Africa, Baraton (UEAB); Peter Kiprotich Sang was honored to be the best student of the year. “I don’t know why I was selected as the best student of the year,” he said when I dived to inquire his thought on the same.
“Peter is a beckon of what real sacrifice and determination is - he has overcome great physical deformity to be here for an education, wow, a degree in applied science,” the SABU Vice President said, “his a ward will encompass five students who have exhibited rare kindness and love to support Peter in everything and all ways possible within the University.”
This is a student who walks around the university compound with at least one companion holding his hand or walking by him and a walking stick to make it from one place to another. “I have a muscle coordination problem that has been worsening with the passage of time,” Peter says, “at primary school I used to play foot ball a bit and climb stairs but by the time I was in secondary school this muscle complication had rendered me lonely from not playing with the rest of the students.”
Muscular dystrophy (MD), which Peter suffers from, is a genetic, hereditary disease that causes progressive muscle weakness. Nine diseases are classified as MD: Duchenne, Becker, limb girdle, congenital, facioscapulohumeral, myotonic, oculopharyngeal, distal, and Emery – Dreifuss. MD leads to multi-system disorders in body organs from the heart, gastrointestinal and nervous systems, endocrine glands, skin, to the eyes.
When Peter went through Kericho Primary School he used to walk to and from school. He was one of the best pupils in the school – he scored 492 points out of the possible 700. This excellent performance secured him a place at the Moi Forces Academy. “My physical fragility has never robbed me an opportunity to excel in my academic endeavors,” he says.
“When the problem grew too bad, I depended on friends to enable me operate and take a seat:” he reminiscences, “they treated me as a normal person.” Even at UEAB where he is pursuing his degree program in BSC. Electronics Technology - he is friendly and easy going with the rest of the students.
“The first time we met with Peter it was at computer center. He was being supported with two students to take a seat,” says one of his fellow students, “I thought he was a patient who was excising around. But we kept meeting regularly even at the electronics workshop. I was amazed with his indefatigable spirit and aspiration to do everything like any one of us.”
“Peter is an encouragement to us as his colleagues,” a fellow electronics major student articulates, “he is always ready to go an extra mile even when things are tough and the temptation of giving up is looming high in our hearts.”
Peter’s academic path is woven with prizes. At Moi Forces Academy, “I scored highly in Kiswahili in Form Four to receive a patch for good performance.”
After his K.C.S.E exam he joined Eldoret Polytechnic for professional accounting courses, before joining UEAB for a management degree program, which he realized, was not his meat. Before transferring to the Department of Technology he had to take developmental courses in Psychics since he didn’t take the subject in Form Four exam notwithstanding having a perpetual interest towards Electrical Engineering from tender times. “I decided to settle for Electronics as it’s a sister to Electrical Engineering.”
Peter admits that his academic course has not being easy: “a lot of effort and devotion and focus and personal motivation is needed,” he advices, “electronics is a very demanding course – it calls for vast reading and carrying out applied experiments and building projects, doing regular experiments and practicum.”
He is looking forward to graduate by 2010; he has a passionate dream of securing a job with one of the giant firms within and without the country to put into practice his vast acquired knowledge and skills.
“The love and understanding of my family members has kept me going,” Peter acknowledges with joy, “they are always there for me.” His father is a farmer cum businessman at Kericho, the Mother is a retired teacher, and yes he is surrounded with two loving brothers and three sisters. His eldest brother is a practicing medical doctor. “None of my close or extended family member has ever suffered from MD,” he explores.
The world is privileged with success cases who have thrived in honing their talents and abilities albeit physical deformity: Ludwig Beethoven lost his hearing gradually from 20s to complete deafness but remained to be a virtuoso pianist, a maestro composer and a soul moving performer; Fanny Crosby despite her blindness after six weeks after her birth composed more than 8,000 inspiring poems and hymnals; example, Blessed Assurance and To God Be the Glory; yes Stephen Hawking the present Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge is suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – now almost paralyzed but his mind keeps on bringing into being genius cosmological theories and discoveries and a symphony of books on his argumentations.
Bradley Walker the country bluegrass singer, Mattie Stepanek who played his Heart Songs, Greg Smith currently running The Strength Coach… - victims of MD, not mentioning President Flankline D. Roosevelt who had polio have lived: “Attitudes are the real disability, to triumph,” Peter asserts.
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