This story of hope from Ghana proves that tenacity and resilience can transform lives, one household at a time.
DAUGHTERS OF CHARITY OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL- Upper East Region. Ghana, West Africa. 11th January 2025
Rosemary became pregnant while still in Junior High School and was forced to marry the one who impregnated her thereby discontinuing her education. At that time, her aunt was a cleaner at our office of the Catholic Education Unit. When her aunt died, she volunteered to replace her so that she could earn some money to take care of her family. I met her on the day of the handing over of the administration to me as the Regional Manager and my heart bled as I watched her young yet pain-looking face. She spoke very little English and would always respond: ‘Yes madam, yes sir’ to me when I talk to her. One day, I invited her to a meeting and asked her what she would like to do apart from the cleaning job or if she would like to return to school. She declined both offers and said she would prefer that I help her husband start a trade or go to the university so that he will take care of her and her children when he is empowered. I respected her views and invited her with her husband for a meeting and enquired from her husband what he thought about his wife’s suggestion. He said he would prefer to be helped to go to the university so that he will get a good job to take care of his family. A closer look at the husband revealed that he was a ‘friend of the bottle’ meaning, someone who has a problem with drink. All the same, I accepted the offer to support him start a small business from where he can save money for the family.
A few days later, I visited their family and saw that the husband drank and beat her up blue-black. So, I changed the idea of supporting the husband and encouraged her to return to school, but she declined because she felt she could not cope with schooling anymore.
The story of Rosemary gradually changed when I started calling her my personal secretary and told her not to bother about schooling anymore. One day I asked her if she would like to learn computer and I noticed that she was very interested in learning how to type with the computer. I sent her to learn computer for three (3) months and this excited her and opened the way to great happenings in the life of Rosemary. From the three months of training in computer skills, Rosemary agreed to go back to school to learn secretarial studies at the senior high school.
A BEACON OF HOPE
Sending Rosemary to the secretarial school was a big breakthrough for me and a sign of hope that things will surely turn around for good in her life and that one day she can decide whether or not to stay in a forced and abusive marriage. Rosemary’s performance in the school was astounding, above average and she graduated with distinction to qualify as a professional secretary. Her joy knew no boards on the day of her graduation and so were mine and all who were connected to her positively. With her certificate, Rosemary was due to be upgraded on the government payroll from a cleaner to a professional secretary. Though I needed her as my secretary, a higher office was in context for her services and since my dream was to have her grow higher, I willingly released her to the higher office.
CURRENTLY:
- Rosemary is the personal secretary to the Municipal Director of Education at the Kasina–Nankana Municipal.
- Rosemary has discovered that the man that was forced on her is not the kind of man she would love to spend her life with, so she has moved out of the marriage with her two (2) children back to her father’s house.
- She has built a house for her mother from the accumulative salary she received from her promotion
- Rosemary has moved her children to a private school where she is giving them the best of education
- Most importantly, Rosemary is currently in her second year in the university studying business administration.
Conclusion
Rosemary has become a beacon of hope, a role model, and an example of perseverance. From a school dropout, a victim of forced marriage and teenage pregnancy to an undergraduate and a person of integrity.