IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING: The awe-inspiring story of para-athlete John Ochieng

What does it take to become successful despite facing a physical disability? Be it battling disability and societal norms, world-beater para-athlete John Ochieng Otieno has challenged various obstacles en route to glory and won over the naysayers with spirited showings.

But how did it start?...

Ochieng was born like any normal baby. At three years, however, he contracted polio. By then polio was a disaster, and efforts from his father to get him medication were futile. In 1959, he lost the ability to walk with both legs, putting him at the mercy of wheelchairs and clutches. Back then, people living with disabilities were considered outcasts and useless in society, and his mother could not withstand the pressure, effectively taking him to his grandmother in Kakamega.

He is now 56 years old but vividly remembers that traumatic experience.

“They told my mother that those were spirits from her land as I was the firstborn. My mother took me to Kakamega to live with my grandmother as she could not stand it.”

Fifteen years later, the government declared polio a national disaster. It was then that his father came to terms with the condition and took him to school before he retired. He completed his primary education and was enrolled for a cobbler course (as it fit him because he could not walk with both legs), a belief that he says is outdated.

“My dad schooled me up to class eight. He said that the best course for people like me is cobbling, and that is a belief that I urge parents to stop. A person might have a hand or leg disability but they are mentally sober just like others.”

Later, he went to Kibera to try to practice his cobbler skills, ‘as he did not want to be overdependent.’ Ochi credits his survival in the slums in a wheelchair to his energetic days as a youth, and friends, most of whom were doing drugs.

“I was in my youthful days and I was energetic. And in the ghetto, there are groups. You know in case of anything you will be helped by your groups. But most of those groups use drugs, so most probably you’ll find yourself living like them.”

He would end up in drug and substance abuse were it not for his family’s decision to call him to Eldoret, where his life changed.

In Eldoret, he continued mending shoes for nine years. He was the first person to start a cobbling business in Eldoret. He mended shoes for a while until a friend called Solomon Maswai invited him to participate in sports for people living with disabilities. Solomon Maswai currently works as a sign language interpreter in the County Government of Uasin Gishu.

His first featured at the Paralympic games in 2002 when he participated in field events but quit in 2006 due to stiff competition. He later joined powerlifting and volleyball. Ochi dedicated most of his time and money to powerlifting, and he often quarreled with his wife who accused him of neglecting the family.

“It reached a point my wife almost left me. I was called in by the mother-in-law for spending all his money and time in the gym and not providing for his family. It was not easy, but that was the time my star started shining.”

Breakthrough

In February 2006, he was selected to travel to South Africa, Johannesburg with the National Basketball team. He represented Kenya well and upon his return, he was named among the team to travel for the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia for powerlifting, and managed position three overall in Kenya.

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His star went on to shine and he participated in the All-African Games, then flew to India, Delhi for the 2010 Commonwealth Games before now shifting gears to the technical bench. He represented Kenya as a player/official in the All-African Games in Algeria.

Following that, Ochi was officially welcomed to the technical committee and was in charge of looking for people living with disabilities that can participate in sports countrywide. He has managed the National Team on several occasions, including the London Olympics and the 2022 Tokyo Olympics. Among his mentees is Nancy Chelang’at who was recently nominated for the SOYA awards.

The sport was a breakthrough for Ochi, who has since stabilized himself, buying land, educating his children, and investing in the matatu business.

Call to relevant authorities.

The para-athlete urges the ministry of sports to invest in sports equally. “Many times, when our teams go to the Olympics, PWDs perform better than abled teams. But the abled teams receive massive funding, sometimes up to Kshs 40 million, while the Paralympics team only gets a meagre Ksh 10 million yet when we win medals, they are all counted equally. We are not given the credit we deserve.”

He has also called on CS Ababu Namwamba to streamline the federations and get rid of cartels. “I urge Ababu Namwamba to ensure all federations follow the law, so that when its time for someone to step down, they do since some people have held power for more than 15 years.”

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He also urges the ministry to set up academies and camps to enable PWDs to train in a serene environment and called on sponsors to invest in PWD sports.

Ochieng says PWDs should take up the opportunites available.

“Today PWDs have a better chance to shine. For instance, they now have better and equal access to services like bursaries unlike back then. When it comes to employment, we are being treated special. It is upon PWD to show up and take on those opportunities. And to the public, never disregard PWDs.”

JOHN OCHIENG’S FACT FILE

Name: John Ochieng Otieno

Nickname: Ochi’

Age: 56 years

Weight: 90kgs

Best moment: 2006 Melbourne Australia

Current positions: Vice Chair Wheelchair Kenya, Chairman Para volleyball, County Treasurer of Wheelchair Basketball