Many young people in Ghana may dream of travelling abroad. Economic hardships, an escape from the consequences of the unmet expectations of friends and family or perhaps, just simply, to enjoy the accolade of “borga” could be reasons. These reasons are important to the individuals themselves, and of course, We should respect their agency. There are some, who may have until now, been unsuccessful with their attempts to travel abroad. It could be as a result of a lack of or inadequate funds, disappointment by a sponsor or even landing a mouth-watering opportunity that changed their minds on travelling. They may have deferred it until a later date or maybe, developed a general disinterest after several failed attempts.
Valid as all these reasons are, it is important, perhaps, even necessary, to share the stories of others who are making it right here in Ghana. From humble beginnings to sunny presents and promising futures. Such people are a hope to the current and future generations.
An example of such a personality is Edward Asare.
Early years
Born in Dawatrim in the Eastern Region, Edward Asare lived with his mum and four other siblings. Growing up in a rural area, his biggest dream was to become a ‘trotro’ (mini buses with a capacity of about 15 to 22 people) driver. There were very few cars that plied the route to Dawatrim. This gave the few trotro drivers from the town some form of prestige. This prestige made little Edward desire their kind of life.
When he reached primary 6, his dad took him to Accra to live with his uncle in Accra. His dad believed that Edward, who was very bright in school, had a future. He was certain that living in Accra could prepare Edward. He was a champion in Mathematics and dreamed of eventually becoming a medical doctor sometime in the future. However, as fate would have it, he did not get to attend his dream school. He had the offer of pursuing Business in Accra Academy where he became chapel Prefect. He enjoyed studying Business and came to love Economics. Despite this new found love, some science students reached out to him. He helped them with Elective mathematics due to his excellence in the subject.
University and national service
After high school, he could not make it into the University of Ghana Business School to read Business Administration. Therefore, he accepted the offer to read Economics. Interestingly, while he was schooling, he did some internships. This landed him a job with TV3 by the time he got to level 400. He planned to do his service and hopefully work there permanently. Fate would however have it differently.
He was posted as an Economics teacher to St. Francis of Assisi Girls High School in Jirapa in the Upper West Region of Ghana. Owing to lack of funds, he could not rent a place to stay and was given a room on credit. Believing in God and trusting that his time in the school was for a purpose, he chose to make a difference in the lives of his students. The girls considered Economics a difficult subject and therefore, they hardly excelled in the subject. Edward changed the name of the subject to A1. Anytime it was time for Economics, the students would say they had A1. With his assistance and positive outlook and approach to the subject, many of the girls, within the one year he spent with them, began to love Economics.
During this period, he took to blogging and was growing to love it as a pastime.
His life now
When he completed his national service, he returned to Accra hoping to get back some of the opportunities he had earlier but that did not work out. He was jobless with no money and stayed home. Yet, he continued to blog while searching for a job. He eventually had an offer from YEN.GH where he worked till, he got his current role with UBA as digital marketer.
He continues to blog and has won quite some awards, recent of them being the National Communications Award for Digital Professional of the Year 2021. Edward is a brand influencer and uses his platform to promote brands and to share “sincere human stories”. He has gained quite a following mainly from young people.
As a staunch Christian, he acknowledges God for his journey so far. He “would not change anything about his path so far”. He has no regrets for the channels and turns his life took have contributed to who he is now.
Lessons
We may be able to cite quite a number of people who “made it” when they travelled outside Ghana. Edward`s story reminds us that it is possible to come from a humble background and still accomplish a lot here in Ghana. We each carry in us a capacity to dream and to achieve. Yet, there is no denying the fact that the environment does shape our thinking and hence our dreams. His dad, seeing the possibilities elsewhere, which his town could not provide, moved him to where he could dream bigger.
We also see how an individual can bring change only if he dares to try. His vision to help the girls see Economics differently saw the light of day because he was willing to give it his best. He made a difference.
He started small, stayed on course, and faithfully kept at blogging which eventually got him where he is today.
We learn that while a first class is great and all students should be encouraged to aim for it. However, it is not all there is to tertiary education. Your inability to make a first class should not stop you from pursuing your dreams. no matter how far-fetched they may seem.
My take-away from his story is that NOs do not mean the end. Yes, they say that opportunities come but once. Yet, sometimes, the seemingly missed opportunities are the blessings we need to see the wide-open doors in our lives.
