A visually impaired fan from Turkana County in Kenya has revealed his inspiration to be like or better than English football commentator Peter Drury.
Samuel Ekiru has also stated he would like to meet the Englishman who is an easily recognisable voice from the Premier League, Champions League and the World Cup.
"I just love the way Drury does his commentary," Ekiru told Nation Sport.
"I would like to be like him, or even better. My dream is to meet him one day and share my story. I know it shall come to pass, although I don’t know when."
Drury's Response
Last year, when Drury learnt of Ekiru’s imitation of him, the Briton sent an encouraging message to the Kenyan man.
"Hi Samuel, it's Peter here in England," Drury said. "I’ve been so interested, so moved to hear of your story, and I’m so grateful that we’ve been put in touch with each other. Kenya is a country I’ve never visited.
"Nairobi, Turkana…they feel like faraway places to me, but I feel that somehow we have become connected by our shared love for football.
"I understand that you enjoy hearing me talk about football and that that’s helped you learn some English and given you a real interest and passion, and that’s fantastic…but let me tell you that hearing your story inspires me a whole lot more.
"I know that life isn’t particularly easy for you, I know you have real trouble, particularly with your vision, and I really hope that there is a way to heal your eyesight and improve that situation for you.
"In the meantime, I love the thought that you would love to be a football commentator, and you should pursue that dream with everything you’ve got. It’s all about passion, it’s about loving it, it is all about words and finding a way to express yourself and I know that you can do that."
"So please keep doing that, keep enjoying your football, keep looking after yourself, keep believing, keep dreaming. I’m so thrilled that we’re connected and across the oceans, I hope we can remain friends. Good luck, take care, bye."
Nation Sport.The 25-year-old also discussed his commentary dream and his future aspirations: "One night I dreamt that I am a football commentator," Ekiru added.
"I didn’t believe it; after that, I believed that I could do it, but the only problem is that I can’t see much of the action because of my poor eyesight.
"Given a chance, I would have loved to go and learn more on commentary, but I have one challenge, I can’t see well, but I hope one day I will be able to do away with this challenge."
Mary Lomojo, Ekiru’s guardian who enrolled him at Katilu Integrated School for the Blind in Turkana, is hopeful the boy can achieve his dream if he gets the necessary support.
"Ekiru has good talent and his commentary is on another level," Lomojo said. "He needs support.
"I would have loved to enrol him in a commentary course to enable him to do commentaries on local football or even internationally. He has good English and he just needs support.
"If Ekiru succeeds in life he can even go look for his parents and help them. Society will be inspired to see the blind boy from that home in Turkana back helping his family. Parents should embrace children with disability."
