Disabled Jamaican woman cooks, washes, and writes using feet – NYCaribNews

51-year-old Daphne Williams who was born with a partial right hand and a single finger. She is a picture of resilience as, throughout her life, she has learned to use that solitary finger to undertake every imaginable task on her own.

With the aid of her right foot, Williams cooks, cleans, washes clothes, sews, and writes her own letters. She also lights her coal stove, cuts patterns to sew, and peels food to cook.

A former vendor, the Smithville, Clarendon resident does not allow her disability to stand in the way.

A staunch Christian and believer in God, Williams firmly believes that she was placed on earth for a special purpose.

This is how I was born and I accept it. God knows best, but Jamaica is too blessed for persons with disabilities to live permanently in hardships for the rest of their lives, said Williams.

The fifth of six children and the only one disabled, she explained her late mother cited domestic woes and emotional distress as the cause of her disability. She has had no formal diagnosis for her condition.

She further revealed that her parents were reluctant to register her in the formal education system, out of fear of her being scorned or ridiculed. As a result, she started primary school at age 10 and graduated shortly before her 17th birthday when she should have been leaving high school.

God granted me wisdom, knowledge and understanding, and I see it as a process for me to learn.

A Sunday-school teacher at the Smithville Baptist Church, she professed her love for children and said the congregation, of which she has been a member since 1994, was very supportive.

She believes that not enough is being done to cater to disabled persons, especially in rural areas.

I am disabled, but I am able. I do everything for myself, but if I want a bag juice, somebody has to give it to me, so I want some financial independence so that I can stop being a burden to my sister. I need some help, she pleaded.

Williams greatest challenge is not physical. She is saddled by financial woes and a lack of resources and pointed to an incomplete house on which construction was halted in 2008 as funds dried up.

There are times you need help and you dont really see anybody. I would love some help to fix up my house and a little bathroom.

She added that she would love to be able to own a sewing machine, as she aims to profit from her sewing skills.

Her niece and a church member both vouched for her saying she is a walking miracle who does everything a person with two hands and two feet can do.

Anyone willing to assist Williams may contact her at 876-562-3732.

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Disabled Jamaican woman cooks, washes, and writes using feet - NYCaribNews