What inspires... Eric Opoku (from Ghana)

Oscar Pistorius has received a truly inspirational message/entry in his 'What Inspires' competition - all the way from Ghana (in West Africa).

"My name is Eric Opoku and I am 15 years old. I am from the Western Region of Ghana in West Africa. I study at the Right to Dream Academy which aims to nurture young, underprivileged, talent into role models for society. I am writing to show my interest in this competition and a very huge sense of gratitude towards the most incredible character in West Africa who has really inspired me over the last year.

"Briefly, his name is Alem Mumuni - he belongs to the native Garu Tempane, known as a tribe in Ghana. The tribe relies on small scale farming practices. Unfortunately, at the age of one poliomyelitis resulted in him being unable to walk and he couldn't get access to crutches so he crawled for eight years before a good samaritan helped him out with a wooden crutch. He had a passion for school and sports and managed to finish high school but did not go on to further education.

"With his passion and love that he has for sports, he tried out lots of activities such as swimming, soccer and cycling and wasn't afraid despite his disability. He discovered his talent to be in cycling and this has enabled him to do great things such as winning the African Paracycling Championship in Niger (2009) which helped him to qualify for World Championship in Italy. He has defended his title as African Champion in his class for three consecutive years.

"Alem has now qualified for London 2012 and is the first ever para-cyclist to represent Ghana at a Paralympic Games but the reason that he inspires me so much is that he is using his success to have a very positive impact on our Ghanaian society. He is trying to become famous and to show Ghana that people with disabilities can achieve great things for our country and that we should help those with disabilities, not exclude them.

"Alem has been living with us and training at Right to Dream with three other para-athletes for a year. Our Academy is hoping to continue this programme after 2012 so that we can include opportunities for children with disabilities and develop para-sports here. Alem is always open to hare his experiences with us and educate all of us about his life - he helps the Muslim boys with their religious studies, assists with lessons at our school and has even started his own school in our local village helping the small children who don't go to school. He is a great role model and inspiration for us all.

"Watch out for him at London 2012!

"Yours,
Eric."

YOU can ALSO get involved in this exclusive competition by telling Oscar Pistorius who, or what, inspires you!

Oscar said: "So many people inspire me, in athletics: British hurdler Colin Jackson, Namibian 100m and 200m runner Frankie Fredericks and American sprinter Michael Johnson have achieved great things and carried themselves in a very inspirational way.

"Outside of sport I really admire Italian motorcycle racer Valentino Rossi, he is very cool!

"I want you to tell me who or what inspires you and why. Send me an email to [email protected] e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ."

A winner will be chosen at random on May 31, 2012 - so you have just one week left to get your entry in.

Please include your name, telephone number and Twitter handle. A selection will be published on www.oscarpistorius.co.za and tweeted through @OscarPistorius

Look back at previous competition entries on www.oscarpistorius.co.za:
- http://www.oscarpistorius.co.za/news/1276-what-inspires-marc-llabina
- http://www.oscarpistorius.co.za/news/1275-what-inspires-pieter-vorster
- http://www.oscarpistorius.co.za/news/1274-what-inspires-chanel-eggar