TISA is pleased to share one more story of a child who stuttered and who overcame his disability to rise to a position of responsibility in society. A common man with uncommon life. It is based on an interview conducted by Jai Prakash on October 12^th, 2009 in Herbertpur.

I am Rev. Edward Moses, aged 55 years, presently living in Herbertpur, Near Dehradun. I am married to Vivienne and have a son (24) and a daughter (22).I am a person of Indian origin, born and brought up in South Africa. We have our family roots in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. I am currently working as a Pastor in a  Christian Hospital near Dehradun, since May 2009. My work involves a lot of public speaking, interacting with people and conducting sessions on a daily basis.

As a young child, I never thought about what causes stammering. But as you know,  there are now many theories and speculation about it. As a young child it used to affect my confidence, my motivation and how I saw myself, my self-concept. I had many friends in school and I was really comfortable with them but the moment you put me with a group of strangers, I will become very shy and avoid talking. I was always worried how the other person would perceive me.

Some time my family members would call me a stammerer, but I didn't know at that time what it really meant!  Fortunately, it has not affected my career choices. I always wanted to become a teacher and you know a teacher has to talk for around 8 hours per day. But yes, as a child I used to think and wonder how will I ever become a teacher.

As stuttering was considered to be a taboo, it was never discussed at home but my parents knew and accepted that I had a speech problem. They always motivated and encouraged me to talk and participate in everything. In the sixties and seventies awareness levels about stammering were really low and speech therapy was not available, nothing much was done about it.

It was at the age of 24, when I was in first year of my theological studies that this thought came to me: I took my Bible, a microphone, a tape recorder and locked myself in a room and read a chapter from the Bible & read it again a few times. When I played my recording, I found that I could speak without any blocks and this thought struck me- "If I can do it here, I can do it outside". I didn't take any professional speech therapy. I thought- "this is my problem and I can solve it". My stammer is not obvious but yes, I still face some difficulties now & then. God gives you many opportunities to grow out of your problems, you just have to step forward, grab them and make the most of them.

When I was in the final year of my theological studies,  I was elected chairman of the student council. I could have easily said to myself that I am not ready for it. But the real reason was the fact that I was a stammerer. But whenever God gives you opportunities, accept them and see how far can you go; Are you good enough? As I see, once I accepted my stammering and could see it as a part of me (not an enemy) it made life easy.

The problem begins when you zoom in too much on stammering. So much so that you are not able to see anything else in yourself and your life. Regarding my marriage prospects, I don't think it affected that at all. According to me, people who love you always accept you for who you are. I would like to say to young people that God helps those who help themselves. Take the initiative, work hard and pray, and you will see the results.

When called upon to speak I try to write down my speeches on paper.  I may not refer to it but at least I have something to fall back on to just in case I face any difficulties. I still get scared at times when called on to speak but my fear exists only between the place where I am sitting and the podium. When I get onto the stage and start talking, you will be surprised the way I am able to communicate with my audience.

Vivienne (Mrs. Moses) also kindly took a few minutes out of her cooking schedule and this is what she had to say:
You see, people may laugh but its up to you to see whether you can laugh with them. It takes courage but it takes away all the bitterness and hurt. I remember once Ed ( my husband ) was coming home with our daughter and tried saying something but the word just didn't come out and we had a good laugh about it. Our son also faces a very mild stammer but that only during the start of a conversation. He also finds it difficult to use the telephone. But once he starts speaking, you will be surprised to see how good he is at communicating. We always try to encourage him to speak slowly and we can see the results. As parents, it our duty to motivate our children and give them constructive feedback. Whenever he is facing a bit of difficulty, we remind him to slow down. He has also taken speech therapy when he was younger. We should never use  words which can affect our child's self esteem. When parents offer consistent support and encouragement, children can rise to any challenge.

TISA thanks both Edward and Vivienne for sharing their thoughts with us and letting young IPWS know that they are not alone in their struggle.