Richards-Peterkin

Esmine Richards-Peterkin has a heart of gold. Her physical challenges have not stopped her from sharing all she has with the children in her care at Central Basic School in St James.

The 54-year-old teacher was confined to a wheelchair after being diagnosed with scoliosis. She had already spent eight years in the teaching profession and was not about to give it up.

Richards-Peterkin is resolute in her mission to teach, despite facing daily discrimination from persons who think her wheelchair should determine her future, and that the best place for her is her home.

Co-workers pushed her

However, support from her co-workers has kept her going.

"They help me to do things I am not able to do and to go places I am not able to go, so I don't pay the criticisms attention because I know it's a stigma that is attached to persons in my situation," she said.

Her ability to write on the chalkboard, supervise the five- and six-year-old children under her care, and to get the students involved in recreational activities makes her no different from a normal teacher.

She said the children asked questions about the reasons for her not walking and how she gets through life in a wheelchair. But each time she explains the situation she is always prepared to do it again, as it has almost become part of the daily routine.

Her love and passion for the field strengthens her to move on, though at one point she thought her career would end.

"I was very ill and I could hardly get anyone to help me with a wheelchair so I thought I would be stuck at home," she said, adding that she has big plans for the future.

"I will be going for my first degree soon, so I can be better at what I do."

nadisha.hunter@gleanerjm.com