Armless carpenter makes furniture in Ethiopia

Sintayehu Tishale, 42, was born with polio. The debilitating disease cost him the use of his arms.

For the past 20 years, the father of five has been providing for his family by making stools and other small furniture in his Welete Suk workshop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — with his feet.

He first began honing his craft as a child, teaching himself how to use his feet to operate tools.

"When I was very young I used to like to work in a garden using my legs as hands," Tishale told Barcroft Media. "Later I began to fix small things like stools and practiced sharpening knives with my feet. I made sure to practice as much as I could because I knew I had to make my feet work like hands."

His family, however, didn't see a promising future for Tishale, instead teaching him to beg in the streets. It was only after Tishale met his wife, Guday Agazu, 38, that he turned his life around by learning to read, write, and further develop his woodworking skills.

He's now considered one of the area's finest craftsman.

Proud of overcoming limitations in a country that doesn't offer much hope for those with disabilities, Tishale dreams of opening a school to help others like himself.

"I have such a strong determination to achieve something, and not giving up has enabled me to overcome my disability," he said. "I really believe that anyone who is partially disabled can be productive. People shouldn't give up living life because they have lost some part of their body. As long as your mind works well you can train yourself to do almost anything."