A girl vs the Pandemic

As a young girl growing up in my small Ghanaian town, Techiman, I often found myself questioning what more there were beyond the borders of my small town. From my nine-year-old imagination of seeing the big world one day to using my passion to initiate changes in underserved communities like mine, my life has been filled with action-oriented initiatives ever since moving to the states. My passion to help others consistently urges me to take action. The urge to consistently help others stem from an experience I had when I was nine years old. It all began in Techiman, Ghana on Wednesday May,11,2011. Sɛdea na me sa yaw?” or “How do I heal suffering?” were the exact native Akan words coming out of my nine year old mouth. We were at our small family house, where my grandmother or nanabasia laid on her favorite clothed Ghanaian Kente bed. In the Ghanaian tradition, when the head of the house is ill, family members gather around he or she to comfort them. On that Wednesday night, my nanabasia children, grandchildren, and great great grandchildren gathered around her like chicks surrounding their hens. The clouds were dark, filled with the cries of birds or “anumaa”. The air was thick with the heaviness placed on my chest. Questions enveloped my thoughts, wrapping uncertainty around me like a blanket. That Wednesday was the closest I’ve ever come to seeing death. My “Nanabasia” tears were non-existent but I saw the pain that crept her cheeks. Those memories captivated my heart to wanting to help people.

Fast forwarded to ten years later, the same pull that keeps poking at my heart to help those unheard by the world surfaced when Covid came. As covid struck, I immediately knew the disastrous impact it will have on underserved Black communities all around the world, especially regions like where I grew up in Ghana. As I began to dissect the effects, I began to see that there were people like my grandmother who were hurting. I immediately began initiating conversations about the issues that vulnerable isolated African villages will be faced with as market centers close-down with a classmate, Koluchi Odiwgeu. Villages depended on market centers for survival. Most African villages travel far to buy from community market centers, which played a vital role in the sustainability of these villages. The already persisting lack of accessibility plus the new emerging lockdowns meant a bigger risk of hunger and covid-19 preventative inaccessibility in these communities. My classmate, Koluchi Odiegwu, and I could not sleep for days as these subjects roamed through our minds. We spent hours every night discussing how we could uplift voiceless African voices that the media often failed to report about. We started emailing African officials and our own peers in hopes of trying to bring awareness and support towards our newly founded initiative: combating the rising hunger in isolated African villages as covid-19 continued to increase throughout the continent.

We began our GoFundMe in March at the height of the pandemic as we struggled for support. Regardless of the setbacks, we were not going to give up. With the dedication of the two of us, we were able to raise 33k this summer which was used to help six isolated villages across Ghana and Nigeria. As our project continued, we were able to help over 500 families. Additionally, we are in the process of starting a foundation aim at fighting hunger, education, and healthcare-related issues on the African continent. Our story is filled with failures, hopelessness, and above it all, it is the understanding of how your own power as an individual could drive you to be a deed for someone else.