Richard Bernard not limited by his disability

Shanique Samuels, Gleaner Writer

MAY PEN, Clarendon:

HE has been confined to a wheelchair for more than 13 years, is jobless, and without an education. Meet 27-year-old Richard Bernard.

Bernard was involved in a crash at age 14 in Morgans Pass, Clarendon, while on his way home with friends and family from a 'set-up'. He was flung from the back of a vehicle he described as a "transit truck" after the driver lost control and the vehicle overturned. He subsequently suffered a spinal cord injury and has not walked since.

At the time of the crash, Bernard was a grade eight student at the Chapelton All-Age School in , but he could not read at age 14. Shortly thereafter, he moved back to May Pen with his mother and started attending church. Bernard said he was given an assignment and paired with a girl who found out he could not read. "It was embarrassing that the young lady had to be telling me what was on the paper, and I had to be repeating it. I was so embarrassed."

After that gruelling episode, Bernard sought help. "I turned to one of the young ladies in the church and said, 'Mi cyaa read, enuh, suh yuh affi go help mi." She agreed, and they began to work at it, and within three months, he had grasped the basics and was well on his way. "I learnt to read at age 20," he added.

He said: "I am a very fast learner. You just need to show me how to do it one time, and I will take it from there. Mi very interested fi learn," he said.

Working hard

Bernard said his only aim and desire right now is to go back to school. "I really want to go to evening class and do math, English, and information technology. Since I am not able to walk up and down and move around as I would like, I would just love to go to school, especially since I never had the chance to complete my formal education." He said he would be working hard to be versatile in all areas of information technology. "I want to be able to fix and manipulate computers in every way possible."

This, Bernard said, would help him to secure a pension when he is much older.

"I am not going to let the wheelchair limit my ability to achieve what I really want," he said smiling.

Bernard loves computers so much that he volunteers at a private business place in Denbigh to do typing just so he can get some experience and learn all he can about computers.

He said aside from going back to school, he is interested in rearing animals such as goats and pigs. "I just need a little push to start me off, and any little assistance I can get, I would really appreciate it. I would really love to have a few animals to raise so that later on down the road when things not going so well, I can have something to send me to school, or to go to college because I am still looking forward to going to college no matter how old I am."

He added that on numerous occasions he had been promised a motorised wheelchair, but to date, none of the promises had been fulfilled. In spite of such a major setback, he still has his sights set high on being successful and is determined to continue working towards his goal. According to Bernard, "mi just need a start and I'll be all right."

Bernard has quite a pleasant demeanour and really wants to make his mark on society through whatever technological advancement he can.

rural@gleanerjm.com