Hellen Keller
When we are well and strong, we tend to forget the many people who do not enjoy the good health that we do. Yet the lives of many people who are afflicted are in example to all of us.
One of the most famous people in the modern world the American lady, Miss Hellen Keller. She was born in Alabama in the year 1880 and she was a happy, ‘healthy little Toaby and even at the age of six months she could speak simple words.
But when she was twelve months old, she was afflicted with a strange illness. For a time it seemed that she might die, but she recovered. Then it was found that she was blind and deaf. This was a terrible double affliction. To lose one of the senses of sight or hearing is bad enough, but to lose both is a great calamity.
For some years very little was done. The young girl began to recover her general health but the senses of sight and hearing were gone forever. It was at her seventh year that the turning point came in her life.
One day a visitor came to her house. Her name was Ann Masefield Sullivan. She was a teacher of the deaf. She sat down beside the little girl and placed a doll in her hand, then very slowly spelled into her hand the letters d-o-I-I.
The young Helen was at one interested in this finger play and she began to imitate Miss Sullivan. In a few days she learnt to spell the names of things like pen, hat, cup and a few verbs like sat, sang and walk. Then she made a great discovery. She found that everything in this world has a name. That discovery was associated with the word, water. Miss Sullivan poured some water over Helen’s hand and spelled into the other water. Suddenly the little girl realised that water meant this cool liquid which was flowing over her hand.
From that early beginning her journey into the world of sounds and speech began. She learned to speak words that she had never heard. She learned to understand what other people were saying by touching their lips lightly with the tips of her fingers. She began to lead an outdoor life and learned to swim and ride a horse. As she triumphed over each obstacle, she began to realise that with effort she could live as full and as interesting life as that of more fortunate people. She began to study foreign languages and mastered French and German.
She had a most distinguished career at college and travelled all over the world because of her special position. She was an honored visitor in every country. She is an outstanding example of how treat difficulties can be overcome if only there is sufficient determination. The life of Helen Keller has made easier the task of children who are blind and deaf. They are taught now by methods which were proved successful in the case of Helen Keller.
