Stephon is a caring and humble man with a beautiful 14-month-old baby daughter. He suffers from a rare bone disease – Multiple Hereditary Exostoses, resulting in 35 surgeries. His love for his daughter, music and helping others keep Stephon going.
Stephon experiences high levels of pain daily and occasional limited mobility. Multiple Hereditary Exostoses means Stephon has different sized bony growths as well as a buckled arm and bowed legs. This makes it both painful and frustrating to complete daily tasks, and surgeries have long recovery periods leading to him missing a lot of school and interactions with friends.
To assist his pain, Stephon has taught himself Zhineng Qigong - an ancient mind/body healing technique - and has music as an outlet for his frustrations.
Music is Stephon’s passion as well as a goal he can constantly strive towards. Although making music itself requires him to push through further frustrations and pain, the joy he feels when he has created something is far better than the pain.
Stephon has qualified as a Grade 8 Classical Guitarist through Trinity College in London and now writes and performs his own songs as a means to connect with people’s hearts and to help heal pain and the pressures of life. Pre-covid, Stephon busked outside supermarkets to regain confidence and also performed at a wedding recently for a couple who first heard him playing at the supermarket!
Stephon has successfully applied for Fund for Good for music equipment so that he can play more gigs which are a combination of classical music, original songs and his own rendition of covers that people request. Better quality speakers will mean that more people will be able to connect with his music and he can help people to feel happy and maybe have a dance!
We think Stephon is an inspiration to so many people: he embraces life’s journey and turns extremely tough times into fueling his growth as a person.
A big congratulations to Stephon, one of our successful Fund for Good recipients. Fund for Good is an innovation programme helping to fund special projects and dreams of Manawanui customers which can’t be funded elsewhere. We are so pleased to be able to help Stephon get his music further out to the world. Ka pai Stephon - we can’t wait to see what you achieve!
“I am too high in the sky to be brought down”
Stephon Battour
If you want to have a listen to Stephon's amazing voice, check out his YouTube channel here: