A 22-year-old young man from the Volta Region who was born with a total of 12 fingers - six on both hands, along with both male and female reproductive organs, has revealed that he has been facing challenges, isolation in his pursuit of understanding his natural makeup.
Speaking in an interview with Fantse YouTuber, Half Plot as he is popularly known, recounted his early experiences revealing that as a child, some expatriates expressed interest in taking him away to find a solution to his disorder.
At the time, his father who had disowned him refused to sign necesary documents hence the opportunity was lost.
He instead remained with his grandparents, who offered him the support he needed during his formative years.
“When I was young, some white people came for me, and they wanted to take me away so my father has to sign before they can take me away, but because he doesn’t want to associate with me, he didn’t come, so my grandparents said I should remain as I am.”
He explained that as he grew older, he gradually discovered that his feet had five toes contrary to his mother's initial claim that like with his fingers he had extra toes.
“I am 22 years, for my feet, my mother used to tell me that it was six but as I grew up I realized they were five.”
However, his physical attributes extended beyond his fingers and toes.
With respect to the reporductive organs, he has both male and female genitalia present. He explained that he faced daily challenges that affected his self-esteem, relationships, and prospects for employment.
“I have two things together, the vagina and penis, the vagina is flat there and the penis is on top, I urinate through the penis, but for the vagina, it is there but there’s no hole in it.
"With my current make up, I feel bad going into a relationship because may be they might run away from me when they see how I am. Initially, I didn’t want to do that because I felt I will become somebody after school ... but right now that I want to go into relationships, I am feeling shy to go and talk to them.”
According to Half Plot, despite having completed secondary school, his aspirations of furthering his education have been thwarted by financial constraints.
“I come from the Volta Region but for now, I am in Adansi Praso, my mother accepted me but for my father, he didn’t want to come close to me. …I did General Arts in Secondary school, I wanted to further my education but my mother said she doesn’t have money.”
He also recounted facing discrimination and rejection during job searches as employers were hesitant to hire him due to his physical appearance.
“ …I am old and I need to work but employers see how I look and they don’t want to help me. So, I am pleading with those that are watching to assist me in any anyway possible to help me overcome this feeling of being entirely different.
He then stated that he admires popular Ghanaian personalities, Nana Ama Mcbrown and Kojo Nkansah Lilwin, and aspires to follow in their footsteps.
“One thing I want in life Is to meet Nana Ama Mcbrown and Kojo Nkansah Lilwin, I want to be like them.”
AM/SARA
Watch the latest episode of The Lowdown:
In the meantime, watch the latest episode of #SayItLoud on GhanaWeb TV with Etsey Atisu below:
Watch the latest edition of BizTech and Biz Headlines below:
