Abena Christine Jon’el was 2 years old when a tumor appeared in her right calf.
It was rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer of the soft tissues. Doctors gave her mother two options: radiation therapy, which could have left her in a wheelchair, or amputation. Her mother chose the latter. “It was the best decision she could have made”, she says today without hesitation.
She grew up in Chicago running on one leg, loud and unruly, far from the stereotype of the sweet, perfect disabled girl. She became a poet, writer, and speaker. But something called her to Africa, and in 2021 she traveled to Ghana for the first time. When she returned, she fell into a deep depression: she felt that a place her soul belonged to had been torn away from her. Three months later, she packed her bags and moved there for good.
Today, at 33, she lives in Accra and walks the runway with a prosthesis wrapped in kente cloth. It’s not just a mobility aid: it’s her declaration of love for the country that welcomed her. “Having a disability isn’t what makes you disabled”, she says. “Lack of support and accessibility—that’s what disables you”.