days in the life

Kofi Antoni
Portrait of a Ghanaian Street Cobbler

Making a living as a cobbler and father of three isn’t easy. Making a living as a disabled man in a country with very few accommodations for the physically impaired is even more challenging. But Kofi Antoni meets the challenges with a smile that lights up his shoe repair stand by taking things one day at a time.

And the muggy Monday afternoon we spent together at his storefront in Abura was is a good day for Antoni. Although he was, as usual, working on one meal, he was energetic about having more than a few customers. Three people in just thirty minutes, which kept him smiling, working fast and furiously and feeling lucky. And all things considered, Antoni is a lucky man.

Stricken with Polio at six years old, before the vaccine came to Ghana, Antoni was left paralyzed and wheel chair bound. Forced to drop out of school in junior high due to his family’s lack of resources, Antoni tapped into what he calls his “natural talent” to make ends meet. His talent of repairing shoes in a country where people reuse and recycle instead of buying new things is smart and pragmatic. And Antoni is also good at what he does as a lot of his customers are repeat patrons.

“He’s the guy I always come to,” says Patrick, who routinely needs his weathered brown leather sandals readjusted. “It’s easy, he’s easy and he does it right.”

Antoni said that he knew at a young age that his “future was [his] responsibility” and he’s always had a plan and a vision. Although right now he mainly fixes shoes for small change, he would like to be able to sell more of his original sandals once he builds up enough capital. Making his own shoes isn’t easy as he has to travel back and forth to Accra to get materials, but Antoni is motivated. “It’s my job for a lot of reasons,” he says with a smile.

Now in his mid thirties with a family to support (which also includes his mother after his father passed away) Antoni hopes to serve as a role model to other disabled people, “so they don’t have to stand at the roadside and beg in the street,” he says. And he’s the perfect person to reach out and connect to others in his community as he spends his days repairing and preparing to walk in everyone else’s shoes.