1 -  Lamine Kamaté                      

Birth Date: 26/11/1975
Birth place: Markala

At 7 years old, one day when I was running, I got head aches. My mother took me home to bed. I slept for 2 hours. When I woke up I tried to stand up, but I noticed that I couldn’t. Then I called my mother. But she thought I was joking with her. When she found it serious she called my father. My father took me to the hospital. The first doctor, a Chinese, said that my sickness is poliomyelitis. We Started medication treatments. I spent 11 years creeping. I was financially and entirely supported by my father as a burden for my relatives.

At an advanced age 15 I realised the  worse state  I  was in because I saw my fellows with the same age doing things I couldn’t do such as going to school,  running , working. I was specially chocked by the fact I couldn’t go to school because of my disability. Still now I regret not being to school.
   One day I decided to go to school myself. I went with the pupils up to school. I entered the classroom. The teacher asked me; what do you do here? I replied: I come to study. He asked if I was officially subscribed by the head master. If not, I couldn’t get access to the class. He backed me off home.  My father spoke to the head master. But it was to late because I was already 15. In Mali children start school at 7.

Now I advise people to vaccinate children against poliomyelitis.