Samuel's childhood obstacles were physical, academic, social and relational, and yet he persevered to become a champion. The multifaceted story of his life as a disabled orphan in Nigeria touches the mind of every child as they relate to Samuel's struggles. His message works to powerfully inspire others to take personal responsibility for reaching their goals through determination, discipline and persistence.

About Samuel - Motivational Speaker

My name is Samuel and I was born in a remote village called Kpor in the southern part of Nigeria. My earliest and most frightening memory is of the day that my uncle brought me to the orphanage, told the matron I had no family and then, in turn, told my mother that I had died on the way. I was four years old at the time and did not know why my mother did not want me anymore. Maybe it was because I was different, crippled with polio and unable to walk. Panic gripped me as I wondered what would happen to me next.

Life at the orphanage turned out to be a miserable existence at best. Instead of caring for the children entrusted to them, our caretakers strived only to make money. We were given only one meal a day so we would appear wretched and starved in order to elicit funds and contributions from donors.

I suppose it was the trauma of being hungry all the time, feeling utterly alone, and the pain of dealing with my illness that caused me to constantly wet my bed.

For this crime I was beaten thirty times every morning with a leather whip used for animals. This went on for eight years of my life, and I became known as "The Bed Wetter.' The shame that followed me was unbearable and the disgrace was so great that I could not even lift my head when I spoke. I was afraid to sleep and afraid to wake up knowing what awaited me in the morning.

When I was eight, I realized that no one was going to help me and if I was ever going to make something of myself I had to get an education. The challenge, though, was that the school was over a mile away, and there was no transportation available. At this time in my life the only way I was able to get around was by crawling, and though the problem seemed insurmountable, I determined to crawl over a mile to and from school to get an education.

Although my hands were calloused and my knees cracked and bloody, I crawled to school for three years. My life started to change, however, the second year of school because of my new teacher, Mrs. Fubara. She was a wonderful woman who always treated me with love and compassion. Everyday at lunch, she sat and tried to talk with me, often sharing a kind word. I wanted to like her but I could not help being a bit skeptical. Why did she want to be a friend to me? No one else wanted anything to do with me - "The Bed Wetter." Although I did not encourage her, Mrs. Fubara came faithfully every day at lunch to sit with me. I did all I could just to tolerate her because my anger and bitterness at the world would allow nothing more. Even though the crawling physically drained me, by the time I got back to the orphange, I studied hard my second year and was a good student.

As the year ended, I knew the final exam would be easy to pass and I would be able to advance to the third grade. Horribly, however, on the day of the exam it began to pour down blankets of thick blinding rain and I knew there was no way I could crawl to school. I began to cry in my heart and became very scared: Was this year all for nothing? All the work I did was useless if I did not get a chance to take the final exam. With everything I had suffered, this was one of the most heartbreaking days, knowing that I would not be able to advance to the third grade.

Just as I was thinking all hope was lost, I looked out the window at the torrential rain and saw a figure with an umbrella coming toward me. I could not believe my eyes... it was Mrs. Fubara. She smiled at me and said softly, "Samuel, get on my back. I will carry you to school." She had left her classroom of over thirty students and walked over a mile to come just for me. At that moment in the pouring rain, my bitterness and hatred began to wash away and my heart burst open with love for Mrs. Fubara. She became my mother, my sister, and the person I could share all my pain with. Mrs. Fubara's love changed the direction of my life forever and started me on a path that would lead me to great success.

With the mindset of "Never Give Up" that I received from Mrs. Fubara, a huge door was opened for me at the age of nineteen, at which time I was invited to compete with hundreds of disabled athlete's in my country. In that competition, I came out the top athlete in all of Nigeria. Next, I went to the World Stoke Mandeville Games in England and in 1994 was named "Best Wheelchair Athlete of the Year." In the year 2000, I qualified for the Para-Olympics and was able to come to the United States for training. I realize now that if I had not pushed my body beyond endurance in those early years, I might not have been strong enough to win these titles.

Although I have succeeded in athletics, the driving force behind my life is to bring love and encouragement to children. That is why I have created Champ's Heart so I can make a difference in the lives of young people around the world.