At the age of fifteen Didace Niragire had an accident leaving him losing his right limb.
He was left without choice but to leave college after the knee had been amputated.
That was the onset of his troubles.
He not only left school, he was also separated from his former playmates and friends that he said he felt was pointless since he did not do any everyday work, like water collection and firewood collection.
In the beginning of the 1990s. He was only in Senior Two, but his education was terminated prematurely by the accident.
His parents later rejected him.
As Niragire loses her right limb, he walks by crutches.
Niragire, now 42, was alone confronted with two decisions, either ending his life or accepting his destiny as a handicapped person and looking for what a person with a disability can do to survive.
He chose the second.
“It was like the whole world had crumbled on me. At that tender age, I was abandoned by everyone, not even a relative would allow me to stay at their place when I was thrown out by my own parents,” he said during an interview with The New Times.
He spent more than two decades living in this misery until he received his break.
Niragire came up with an idea to approach a cobbler from his neighborhood after nearly two centuries of survival at the mercy of well-wishers in order to learn from him how to repair shoes.
He figured this was something he didn’t need to have both legs, nor did he need to go to school.
Niragire shows a piece of property he purchased thanks to the revenue he earns from his daily work of creating and mending shoes
Niragire was determined to lead an independent life, and that was his inspiration to follow his newly found business.
“It was in 2007 when I approached the neighbour who was at the time making a lot of money through repairing shoes, I begged him to coach me which he graciously allowed,” he said.
He added: “It only took me a week to become a good cobbler and I started earning my own money. Despite getting the basics, it never stopped my thirst to learn more.”
Now, besides repairing shoes, he’s manufacturing them and at the Cyanika Cross Border Market near the Rwandan border with Uganda he’s always having a ready market.
He claims he makes a profit of Rwf10,000 on a daily basis with Rwf200,000 on average as his monthly take-home.
Niragire testifies that since 2007 he has been living from nothing but his business that he emphasizes, which has helped him to take excellent care of his five kids who are still in school.
He mentioned that since then he has built a house worth Rwf15 million and purchased three plots of property worth Rwf3 million each.
“My achievements have been made possible thanks to a savings culture I embraced early on; I am an active member of a cooperative which enables me to regularly save and borrow; that is how I managed to build my own house,” he said.
“The plan is to increase my properties and I am confident to achieve more,” added Niragire.
Niragire scoffed at disabled individuals who believe they’re better off begging on the streets, stating they can do so much and earn a dignified living.
He encouraged people with disabilities to strive for self-reliance, stating that unlike before, there is political will where people with disabilities are enabled to live on their own other than being a burden on the society.
“Disability is not inability; as long as you have functioning brains, you will always make it. What it all requires is determination,” he said.
His neighbors commend his accomplishments pointing out that he is exemplary not only for disabled individuals, but for everyone.