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Being
the last born of ten, two sisters and seven brothers, I had this answer from my
dad because only one out of my nine siblings had completed senior high school.
Some drop out at the SHS level whilst others refuse to go after the JHS level.
My dad’s stance to me was an indication of disappointment from the conduct of
my siblings even though I promise him nothing of that sort will happen, he
still insist.
I
was much determined to continue education so I enrolled myself into Battor, SHS
in the North Tongu district of the Volta Region hoping my dad will pay for my
fees but to no avail so I have sneaked in and out of class for one complete
term but had to drop out finally on the very first day the school started the
first term examination.
Fortunately,
one of my brother who has travelled to Afram plains for some time now came to
visit and when I approach him to pay my fees so I can write my end of term
examination, he told me he would not pay for my fees unless I stopped that
school for him to send me to a different school of his choice, an opportunity I
accepted wholeheartedly so I quickly packed my things and left with him the
next day. When we reached his place of stay in the Afram plains that week, he
told me since admissions have closed for that academic year I should help him
with his chainsaw business so that I would go to school the following academic
year which I agreed. Unfortunately his mind changed from me going to school to
me learning the mechanic trademanship; a situation that do not sounded well to
me so I have to go to the chief of the village who happens to be a close friend
of my brother for him to plead with my brother to send me to school instead of
the trade which finally worked out but on technical school only.
My
first and second years as a motor vehicle mechanic student at Koforidua
Technical Institute was smooth however the third was a tough time for me
because my brother’s chainsaw job went down and I went through real hell to
complete school but came out successfully and first out of 36 students. .
After
high school I got an MTN credit card business popularly known as (space to
space) job where I was being offered 15.00 a month, and after two months I got
admission to pursue technician course in automotive engineering at St Paul Technical
School in Kukurantumi, a suburb of Koforidua for two additional years because I
needed these certificates before I could get admission to any polytechnics in
Ghana.
Soon
after completing these course I joined the space to space business again where I
was able to save some money to buy Koforidua Polytechnic admission forms the
following year and I was soo excited when I received a call that I got
admission to pursue Higher National Diploma (HND) in Automotive Engineering
however I was sad few minutes after asking myself these question “how do I pay
for the fees?” since I was given only two weeks to pay or forfeit the
admission. I thought over these for several days but there was no hope anywhere
but I confided in a very close friend who agrees and lend me the admission fees
so which I paid back later .
I
walked a 15 minutes’ drive journey every day in my first year at Koforidua
Polytechnic, and I got a bicycle from a friend later which I used for the whole
of the second year period before I got a scholarship to participate in the
Community Colleges Initiative Program in the United States of America for one
academic year before returning to complete my third year course the following
year. I went through a lot of challenges at Koforidua Polytechnic which could
have hinders my performance but I never allowed myself to be controlled by
those challenges and I completed with first class and was adjudged “Best
graduating student from the automotive engineering department in 2012” I have
been through a lot that was enough to make me a school dropout but this phrase
was what kept me going on “determination today leads to success tomorrow” I
wrote this phrase on almost all my exercise books and textbooks during my high
school year.
In
2013, I was motivated by my own life story and my exchange program experience
and initiated the Mobile Peer Mentoring project in my quest to make people benefit
from my exchange program and to create change in the community and beyond. The
goal of the project is to restore hope in undeserved high schools across Ghana
that it doesn’t matter where ever they may find themselves, success is possible
if they determine and persevere. The project also enable students to identify
themselves (personality), their dominant learning styles which will help them
study well and select programs at the tertiary level based on their personality
type. I wrote a proposal on it and
submitted to the US Embassy and it was considered for funding. Considering the
impact now and reciprocating effects of the project on the future of the
students, the U.S. Embassy have since provided substantial funding which have
helped mentored over 2,800 high school students directly and an unlimited
number indirectly in 32 schools from 8 out 10 regions in Ghana and still
counting.
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I
studied automotive engineering for eight (8) years and I am a master at it but
I don’t enjoy working as a technician/engineer just because I was
forced/compelled to pursue it. My one year study abroad had changed my life and
helped me identified my personality and I am happy today working as a social
entrepreneur.
My
dream is to set up an organization “Mobile Peer Mentoring Foundation” to manage
these life
