This physically challenged woman teaches deep lessons about hard work

Madam Tanjo Laar has proven that being physically challenged does not mean she cannot farm for the survival of her family.

Some persons living with disability rely on begging for financial support on the streets to survive but Madam Tanjo Laar, 40 and a mother of four children, has cultivated three acres of maize.

Madam Tanjo Laar works on her farm at Dukluatuk in the NaKpanduri-Bunkpurugu district of the North East Region.

Madam Tanjo Laar narrates to DGN Online that even though she is paralyzed in the leg, she crawls and walks with the help of the crutches to perform her farming activities at the farm.

“Because of my condition and age I easily get tired so I’m compelled to crawl on the floor to continue with the farming activities.”

Madam Tanjo Laar says some of the produce from the farm is sent to the Nakpanduri market to sell for the upkeep of the family.

“Sometimes I make GH¢10 when I send the product to the market, life is really difficult for us here especially with the education of the children, some time ago my children had assistance from a group due to my condition but we don’t receive that help anymore for some time now so it’s really difficult for us financially to send them to good schools and provide learning materials for them.”

According to her, she gets GH ¢30 through government’s Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) program which is inadequate as persons living with disability continue to wallow in poverty.

“They put three of us together and give us GHC90 so we share it among us which is GH¢30 each.”

Asked if she feels cheated with the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty programme, she said they have no choice because it is an assistance to them and that they cannot complain about it.

Madam Tanjo Laar has difficulty in moving to the market with her farm produce because her tricycle which is the only source of movement is faulty and cannot be repaired.

“I spend money to transport my produce to the market and sometimes moving from one community to the other is really expensive so if I get the tricycle it will help me with transporting my produce to the market instead of paying for transportation.”

Appeal

Madam Tanjo is appealing to individual, organisation and well-wishers to assist her with farm inputs to enable her to expand her farm to be able to support her family.

She also appealed for a new tricycle which will aid her movement from home to the market due to her health condition.

Madam Tanjo wishes to give her children a good education but she is financially constrained therefore appealing for support for her children’s education.