When these crutches were finished, Pepe’s father tested
them by putting his own weight on them. They supported
him easily, yet were lightweight. Then Pepe tried them.
At first, he had trouble balancing, but soon he could hold
himself up. By afternoon, he was walking with the crutches!
But they rubbed under his arms.
“I have an idea,” said Pepe’s father. He ran to a wild
kapok tree, and picked several of the large ripe fruits. He
gathered the soft cotton from the pods and put a cushion
of kapok on the top crosspiece of each crutch. He wrapped
the kapok in place with strips of cloth. Pepe tried the
crutches again. They were comfortable.
“Thanks. Papa, you fixed them great!” he said, smiling at his father with pride. “Look
how well I can walk now!” He moved about quickly in front of them.
“I’m proud of you, son!” said his father, smiling too.
As the health worker prepared to leave, the whole family came to say good-bye.
“I can’t thank you enough,” said Pepe’s father. “It’s so wonderful to see my son
walking. I don’t know why I never thought of making crutches before...”
“I should be thanking you,” said the health worker. “You have taught me a lot.”
After leaving, the health worker smiled to
himself. He thought, “How foolish of me
not to have asked the father’s advice in the
beginning. He knows the trees better than I
do. And he is a better craftsperson.
“But it was good that the crutches I made
broke. Making them was my idea, and the
father felt bad for not thinking of it himself.
But when my crutches broke, he made much
better ones. That made us equal again!
A 2 ABOUT THIS BOOK
So the health worker learned many things
from Pepe’s father—things that he had never
learned in school. He learned what kind of
wood is best for making crutches. He also
learned how important it is to use the skills
and knowledge of the local people—because
a better job can be done, and because it helps
maintain people’s dignity. People feel equal
when they learn from each other.