Faith Oakley
Faith Oakley was born with a condition that stops her from using her right arm. She challenged herself in the 4th grade and tried archery, and fell in love with it. Faith is able to use a regular bow by using a mouth tab. She holds the bow with her left arm, and draws the string with the mouth tab clenched between her molars. Already she has teached a few kids to shoot with a mouth tab, and is aiming to become a certified archery instructor so she can help even more. “If there’s something you want to do, no matter what obstacles you have, take that dream and run with it,” says faith. It is incredibly inspiring to see someone overcome such an obstacle, especially at such a young age! And to top it all off, her level of selflessness and desire to help others could teach us all a thing or two!
She was born with Erb-Duchenne palsy, a condition that prevents use of her right arm. So, when a summer camp counselor asked Oakley to try archery in fourth grade, she almost didn’t. She hesitated a split-second, but then trusted her faith and agreed. The counselor helped Oakley hold the bow and, to her surprise, she shot her first bull’s-eye. That was all she needed to fall in love.
