Beyond Words: Thank you! My Family.
For the 39 years of life I have lived so far, my family has exhibited love and afforded me endless opportunities to thrive. I am the last of six children. And growing up, I had the best of everything, with my mother’s meagre salary. My mother took the bull by the horns to manage this situation by selling taro leaves. And she would get drenched with early morning dew while trekking to our family farm for this local vegetable.
My mother has lived her life as a widow. She never remarried after the passing of our father and I do not recollect having any conversations with her about her decision to remain unmarried. However, I sense she made this choice purposely by prioritising the needs of her children above herself. I am eternally grateful to her for raising us with love, compassion, and above all, instilling in us an appreciation for life and respect for everyone in our walk of life. Even though she did not have a luxurious life while growing up, she gave us the best upbringing.
During my early months overseas as an international student, I faced financial difficulties with tuition fees payment. My mother stood by my side and contributed the little she received from her pension to support my fees and my upkeep. My mother has consistently kept me in her prayers since I was born and continues to do the same for success in all my endeavours. Words cannot express how much my mother means to me. The support and kindness she’s shown to me over the years cannot be underestimated.
For those from the western part of Africa, specifically, Ghana, being the last born implies that you get the absolute best of everything in the family. This preferential treatment leads to enmity among siblings in some families but I did not experience this in my family. I suppose the age differences among my siblings might have played a role in preventing any animosity in the family. For example, the age difference between my elder brother and myself is fifteen years. Hence, there is this natural tendency for him and my sisters to see me as the “last born” or “baby” of the family. And they did not bother about the “special” treatment our mother endorsed while growing up.
My senior brother has been my father figure while growing up. His encouragement and advice about the need to have a purpose in this life has been awe-inspiring. Landing my first job as a film processor in a photography company was through his initiative. While awaiting an offer of university admission, he kept a roof over my head, as well as contributed immensely to my tertiary education. He paid for my first-year tuition fees and got me all the required university supplies. He was the initiator of my sojourn to this beautiful country — Australia, for further studies, and I have since remained here permanently following completion of my studies. I owe him a great deal of gratitude for all the support he has provided for me over the years and made me who I am today.
If my memory serves me right, I met my uncle for the first time during a church convention that took place in the town in which he was living. My mum’s church used to organise these conventions annually to win souls for Christ and I had attended a couple of such with her. From the moment I met him, I knew straight away the semblance he had with my late father. I stayed connected with him regularly after this first contact. I remember that whenever I got wind of his presence in our city to visit my late aunty, I would try to catch up with him. During my university break, I visited and spent time with him. I have also gone on a long journey with him to visit my senior brother in another city. While preparing for my studies in Australia, he supplied documents (bank statements/statutory declaration) to ease my visa application and then gifted me USD$500 as seed money for my travel which I used to buy my first laptop.
I was absent during his funeral rites in October 2016, three years into my education. It is difficult to travel during semester periods. The amount of money involved to buy an air ticket because of the limits on hours you can work as an international student affects your chances of visiting home regularly. I sometimes feel grief-stricken when I think of my inability to have visited and paid him my last respect during his memorial service but I look forward to the day to appreciate him. He did a lot for me and I plan to visit his tombstone to thank him while visiting home for holidays.
My sisters and extended family members have also played significant roles in my life. I am eternally grateful for all the support they have afforded me on this journey of life.
