Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, the subject of Emmanuel's Gift, is fortunate to have escaped the cruelty faced by most Ghana children born with physical deformities or disabilities at the same time he was. Children with such afflictions were considered to be a curse upon their entire family. At best, these youngsters would be shunned by their relatives and left to become beggars. At worst, they were poisoned by family members. 

Emmanuel was born with a twisted and deformed left leg. His mother was discarded by his father, a man he never met. As her son’s protector, she warded off constant suggestions that he should be poisoned and focused on what she truly believed. Emmanuel was taught that he was the same as those who are not disabled and that he deserved the same opportunities afforded to others. Acting on these convictions, Emmanuel's mother enrolled him in school. Sadly, she passed away during Emmanuel's adolescence. Before dying, she made him promise he would never become a beggar.  

Although forced to leave school, Emmanuel was determined not to become a beggar. He started a business and earned $2 a day by shining shoes. He felt it was his mission to prove to fellow Ghanaians that the physically disabled are in charge of their lives and should not be discarded. 

Emmanuel wrote the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) for assistance with his mission. He did not ask for any money. All he requested was a bicycle he could use to peddle with his left leg across Ghana and let people know that disability does not mean inability. Impressed by Emmanuel,  the CAF decided to bring him to San Diego to partake in its 56-mile bicycle event. The CAF began after Jim MacLaren, an amputee and marathon athlete, became a quadriplegic when a van hit him on a closed circuit race-track. MacLaren’s friends staged the first San Diego Triathlon Challenge in 1994 to raise the $25,000 for a special van MacLaren could operate with his hands. The friends raised twice as much as was needed. In 1997 they were able to establish a foundation that has raised $6 Million and helped 1,600 challenged athletes.

In San Diego, Emmanuel met MacLaren and fellow athlete Rudy Garcia-Tolsen. Both MacLaren and Tolsen use artificial limbs to help themselves function better. As a result of the CAF affiliation with Loma Linda University Rehabilitation Institute, Emmanuel was invited to stay for a week in order to  see if a prosthetic limb would benefit him. Unsure about the surgery to amputate his right leg above the knee, he confided in Rudy, a double amputee who lost his legs at age 5. Emmanuel finally became convinced that an artificial limb would help him far more than his right leg was able to do. Despite this kind of operation proving to be fatal back home, Emmanuel underwent the surgery and experienced what it's like to walk on two feet without crutches.

Emmanuel’s Gift, directed and co-produced by sisters Nancy Stern and Lisa Lax, is beautifully rendered and benefits from strong narration by Oprah Winfrey and moving cinematography by Samson Chan. This documentary teaches children that despite obstacles, people can persevere and achieve things beyond the barriers society may place on them. 

Emmanuel's Gift has its International Premiere on April 28th at Sprockets: Toronto International Film Festival for Children, and  Emmanuel  is expected to be in the audience at this event.  For more information, visit the Festival's official Website.

(Released by First Look Pictures; not rated by MPAA.) 

Review also posted on www.movie-critiques.com.