Contact: Gary Bryant
19
Aug
2016
Chula Vista
Aug 19, 2016 12:10 PM – 1:30 PM
CA
United States

Samuel Nehemiah was born in a remote village in the southern part of Nigeria.  At age 4 and crippled with polio and unable to walk, Samuel was brought to an orphanage by his uncle and told them he had no family.  Life at the orphanage over the next 8 years turned out to be a miserable existence; enduring deliberate starvation, persistent feelings of loneliness, daily beatings and the constant pain of dealing with his illness.    At age 8 Samuel learned that education was the only way out of his current situation and for the next three years he would crawl over a mile to and from school to get an education. A new teacher in his second year of school proved to be a life changer for him.  With the love she displayed for Samuel and the mindset of “Never Give Up” that he received from his teacher, a huge door opened for Samuel at age nineteen.  He was invited to compete with hundreds of disabled athletes in his home country and subsequently was named the top athlete in all of Nigeria.  In 1994 he was named the “Best Wheelchair Athlete of the year” at the World Stoke Mandeville Games in England.  In 2000 he qualified for the Para-Olympics and was able to come to the United States for training.  Although a successful athlete, the driving force in Samuel’s life is to bring love and encouragement to adolescent children as they are faced with daily decisions that will impact their futures and to take personal responsibility of their future; something he personally  knows only too well.  He does this as a motivational speaker through an organization he created called “Champs Heart” and his commitment to reaching young people thru assembly programs focused on character building and positive life lessons.  Samuel is an inspiration to all he comes in contact with and he also has an amazing singing voice which we will have the opportunity to hear.