About Fatou Kiné
“losing a foot is not a handicap, it’s losing your head that’s a handicap”. If God allows you to use your brain well, you must take advantage of it to be useful to your loved ones and your people.
After my Koranic education, the president of the motor-disabled association, Madame Dieye, came to my house to ask my mother’s permission to let me join the association, which helps people in the same situation as me.
My mother replied that she had given me the right upbringing, so she had total confidence in me. Wherever I went, she’d have peace of mind, because a disabled person draws strength from his family before going out into the world. I’ve taken several training courses. I trained as a hairdresser, a bather, a soap-maker and a crocheter. I did everything you could do with your hand. I took part in all the training courses that interested me. Alhamdoulillah, I’ve seen the results.
Before becoming a hairdresser, I had gone to train as a hairdresser because I’m ambitious. For me, as long as there’s life, there’s hope, and I wrote a letter to Mme Aminata Mbengue Ndiaye and brought it myself. Back then, there was no elevator, so I had my wheelchair. After greeting the security guard, I told him I wanted to see Aminata Mbengue Ndiaye, and he asked how I was going to get upstairs with my wheelchair because there was no elevator. I asked him to point me to his office and to bring my chair in front of his desk, and I crawled over to the secretariat. I found a certain Séne who welcomed me. I told him I wanted to see Aminata Mbengue Ndiaye, but he said she wasn’t in, and I told him I didn’t want to come back, as the building didn’t have an elevator and it wasn’t easy for me to get in. That’s when he asked me what I wanted. I told her I wanted to take a training course and wrote a letter to Aminata Mbengue Ndiaye. He replied that my wish would come true because he would do whatever was necessary.
Fortunately, Aminata Mbengue Ndiaye received the letter and called me. She told me she was ready to help me and that I could do the training I wanted. This was great news for me. After that, I went in search of a training center. But the centers I saw were not accessible to me. I was then referred to a school on the Front de Terre road, the International Hairdressing School. When I went there, I asked to see the director. They told me I had to talk to the secretary first, but I refused. The director had the humility to come down, but when they see that you’re a disabled person, they tend to think you’re not worth much and wouldn’t do anything great. I told the headmistress that I’d come on behalf of Aminata Mbengue Ndiaye, since in your school the rooms are downstairs and adapted to my situation. At the time, I was too pretty and had long hair. I did my own hair. She asked me who did your hair. I replied that I did it myself. She retorted that there was no need to come for training and that I could work at home since I had a gift. I replied that I knew because I earn my living there, but it’s the diploma I want. She replied that I was right, but that she didn’t take people with disabilities. I didn’t say a word and went back to see Aminata Mbengue Ndiaye to tell her the news. With the education I received, I was convinced that I would be one of those who would develop my country. Doing nothing wasn’t going to do me any good, so I bought some yarn and started crocheting. Each time, I perfected my hooks. It was then that Mrs Dieye put me in touch with Annette Mbaye Derneville.
Then there was the micro-gardening training I had to do.
The first day I went to see Auntie Annette M Derneville, she said to herself, at first sight, “Why did Madame Dieye send me this one? How will she do it? So she put me together with women and boys. The late Gouda Ba was our teacher and understood my situation well. I prefer to leave when I know I’m not going to make it. So I put my heart and soul into it.
On the first day, we did our theory. The next day we had to practice. I was the first to set my table and finished before the others.
I never gave up, and kept going right up to the end of the course.
In the process, God brought partners to the center. Madame Dieye asked me to join the group of hairdressers, since that’s my passion. I graduated valedictorian. Next, we are offered capacity-building training. The director of the international hairdressing school who had refused to let me join her school was the one who was supposed to do it for us. However, it was the framers who came to the center. One of the framers didn’t believe in the success of people with disabilities. I surprised him so much because every time we did a hairdressing assignment, the next day I’d come in with the same hairstyle. She asked me to supervise the students instead of doing the exam. I told him I was there to perfect my skills and get my diploma, that I was learning. On the day of the exam, the director was invited. Two heads had to be styled between 9 and 11 am. When the examiners arrived, the director of the International Hairdressing Training School asked who had made these two heads? I told him it was me. She asked the framer why there were two heads to be styled in a single exam. She replied that the students had even surprised her. That’s when I told them we wanted to take up the challenge because you teach us but you don’t believe in us. So here’s the result.
