Ibrahim Wafula was born a healthy child in Western Kenya to proud parents Zaituri Nakyemba and Muhammdi Odhambo Daniel. He was a happy child who regularly attended school and was active in sports. Raised in a Muslim household, he learned from an early age the power of God and faith.

Then one day, a routine trip to the local market would change Ibrahim's life forever. He was in the backseat of a car driven by a cousin when it slammed into another vehicle midway through an intersection. Out of the four occupants in the car, Ibrahim was the sole survivor. The automobile had to be cut open so that he could be removed. Responders had difficulty removing his badly injured right leg. Ibrahim was rushed to a hospital that would be his home for the next three years.

Local doctors were not equipped to deal with the extensive injuries Ibrahim suffered. While they did what they could to help save Ibrahim's leg, infection would dictate their eventual course of action. Ibrahim awoke in a hospital one day to find that his right leg had been amputated above the knee. With his mother Zaituri, by his side, the young saddened Ibrahim could hardly realize how much his life would change.

During his stay in the hospital, Ibrahim's father had disappeared in shame. Crippling injuries are seen as an omen of bad luck or a curse in small African villages. After being released from the hospital, Ibrahim's mother decided they should live with her family. There he was encouraged to adapt to his new condition and live life as independently as any other person. The determined mindset Zaituri maintained about her son was highly unusual. Disabled people in Africa are commonly hidden inside the home, out of sight from others and kept dependent on family members.

Zaituri would see to it that her young son's life would be different. She instilled in Ibrahim the value of hard work, prayer and faith. He learned to work in the gardens, produce his own food and sell it at the market. Zaituri kept him in school where he would receive an Islamic education and learn to read and write Arabic. At a training center for the disabled, Ibrahim learned how use a hand cranked tricycle, giving him mobility and independence.

With the tools necessary for survival, Ibrahim left his small village in southern Kenya to look for work at the age of fourteen. He found work and lodging at a mechanical repair shop.   Ibrahim's intellect and industriousness would gain the respect and admiration of his employer. He would remain there for five years.

One day after working at the shop, a neighbor made a bet with Ibrahim. The neighbor said he would give Ibrahim 100 shillings if Ibrahim could get on a normal bicycle and ride it. Ibrahim reasoned that since he often cranked his tricycle with one hand while breaking with the other, he could power a normal bicycle with one leg. In his first effort, Ibrahim managed to hoist himself onto the bicycle with his crutch, maintain balance and steer the bicycle downhill. The surprised neighbor didn't have 100 shillings to give Ibrahim after the feat but it was a bet that would bring a new direction to Ibrahim's life.

Months later, with money saved from his hard work, Ibrahim purchased his first bike. Quickly, he mastered the ability to ride a bike with one leg and used the bike to get to and from work. Ibrahim had learned to run using his left leg and crutch, play soccer and now he had become a bicycle rider.   In Ibrahim's life, his new bike was a symbol of his refusal to live a life less active and able than those around him.

One day after work, Ibrahim was sitting outside the small repair shop when he witnessed 50 bicycle riders speeding down the road. Ibrahim had never observed anything like it before and was immediately filled with excitement. When one of the riders cruised by with a punctured tire, Ibrahim quickly came to his aid. Overjoyed, Ibrahim asked the rider what was happening. "It's a bicycle race!" The rider replied. Ibrahim asked how he could become involved in such an event. The racers answer was simple. "Anyone with a bicycle could enter a race" but the racer looked at Ibrahim doubtfully as he thanked him for assistance.   As Ibrahim watched the rider take off in pursuit of the competition, Ibrahim knew then that he wanted race bicycles.

Struck with a new purpose, Ibrahim began his training. He started by riding 12 kilometers back and forth to work each day and another 24 kilometers during every lunch break. His bike was a heavy steel utilitarian Chinese made bicycle known everywhere in Africa as the "Black Mambo."   On it he racked up another 140 kilometers every weekend knowing that one day he would enter in a race.  

Meanwhile, during his employment at the mechanical shop, Ibrahim's dedication and perseverance gained him a great deal of respect and admiration from his boss. Upon retiring and returning to India, the boss decided to give Ibrahim ownership of the shop. It was a joyous occasion for Ibrahim but as fate would have it that joy would be brief.

Ibrahim arrived to work on the first day as his own boss, to find that the shop's contents had been stolen. Through word of mouth, Ibrahim believed that shop's landlord had arranged the theft and he pressed charges with the police. The wealthy landlord was able to bribe the local police and have all charges dropped. Ibrahim was without the ability to find justice and without now a job. Now jobless, Ibrahim headed to Nairobi, "the city of work" on his bike with the understanding that while demonstrating his ability and independence, he'd be treated fairly and offered work.

The events to follow would continue to have a tremendous impact on Ibrahim's life. While pedaling around the Nairobi, searching the city for work, Ibrahim passed under a banner that announced a mountain bike race on the parkland of Mt. Kenya. Immediately, he set his sights on entering the competition. Ibrahim discovered that he would need 3,000 Kenyan Shillings for registration and transportation. Disappointed but determined, Ibrahim had only 2,300 shillings left from savings. Unemployed with only 1 week before the race, Ibrahim would have to borrow the rest.

Ibrahim prayed for the chance to participate in the race. His prayers were answered and on race day, Ibrahim was determined to make the best of a rare opportunity. The Mtn. Kenya race, hosted by the Mt. Kenya trust is an international event that attracts riders from all over. Ibrahim was excited over the chance to race for the first time against white competitors equipped with expensive mountain bikes. Ibrahim arrived at the race with his ordinary single speed Chinese utility bike known in Africa as the black mambo. With his crutch strapped to the bike, Ibrahim took to the off road 50 mile course with one very strong leg and massive amounts of determination.

Against just over a hundred competitors, Ibrahim placed in the top ten. It was an incredible feat that amazed everyone involved and another moment that would create a major change Ibrahim's life! One of the most impressed observers was one of the race sponsors, Tony Simmons of International World Agriculture Center. Overcome with disbelief, Tony asked Ibrahim what he needed in prize money. 5,000 shillings? 10,000 shillings?   Ibrahim need only request an amount. Ibrahim, a sensible man, told Tony that what he needed most was a job! Tony understood and told Ibrahim to visit him at the Agricultural Center on Monday for a job with his certificates of college education.

Ibrahim had no college education but brought with him many certificates to his interview with Tony Simmons. Ibrahim presented Tony with the only certificates he had. The certificates were from previous races he had entered and they announced Ibrahim's accomplishments; A first place in one race against 60 competitors, a third in another against 90 competitors and so on. Tony read one certificate after another and smiled. He gave Ibrahim a position at the center that would lead to a 4 year contract at a seed specialist.

During the next four years, Ibrahim continued to work at the Agricultural center and became an expert on reforestation seeds with the ability to name over 3,000 species of trees. He met and married his wife and the two of them have three girls. He continued to train and compete with the understanding of how the sport of cycling changed his life. It was near the end of his contract when Ibrahim and I met. With a long string of accomplishments under his belt, Ibrahim was creating a vision for the next phase of his life.