The Intervention of IHM into the Life of Patience a wonderful success story!
How one person success leads to helping a community and becomes a role model and leader for current and future generatrions!
Patience neighbor’s son coming back from the stream at the late hours of the evening. Patience told them she will have free water for them soon.
Patience was at the time one of the 26 beneficiary students whose education IHM sponsored for the improvement of their skills in Agricultural Science and Practical Techniques, Carpentry, Building & Construction, Electrical Installation, as well as Business and Secretarial education and training. The Father Dolgi Institute was built to help students upon graduating move into the job market with technical skills which was slim and difficult as it is today. Patience was an advances student of the Business and Secretarial at 23 years old and struggling to pay for her high school diploma education.
After completion of Father Dogli Memorial Tech./Vocational Institute Patience was compelled to help her uncle in the Video and Photography business, while also doing part-time hours at a bookstore. With a total working hour of about 11 hours per day for 7 days a week, Patience earned the equivalent of only 35 dollars a month.
After getting to know Patience I had her fly to New York with another sponsored student to spend summer vacation in New York. The trip was quite an experience, and probably a tremendous shock for the two girls, given the cultural diversity between their simple rural upbringing vis-à-vis the cosmopolitan and sophisticated cultural stature of New York City. The trip was an important educational watershed for both Patience and Rita as it served as a vista of opportunity to see and experience life in New York City in particular, and the the United States in general. It was also for me and other associates of IHM an good time to experience their culture and the ways they do things back in Ghana.
While Patience was with me, she had an idea about a small business she would like to open in Ghana when she returned. The business would be a small copy shop and school supply store in the heart of a school district (Hohoe). In 2010 we opened up the shop, which was built by the school—which materials and supplies I paid for fully.
Her idea paid off!!! the shop put her through college and when she graduated, she was offered a government job where she works today. The shop had to close after she started her new job because we lost our lease on the property after a while as the owner wanted it back, but it was OK as she began to save for her new project to have her own house built after getting a small loan.
She started to build the house little by little and we helped her to get it completed where she now lives with her mom. Today Patience decided to build another small shop on the property where her mom sells basic supplies for the community as the nearest stores are a few miles away.
Given the challenges of accessing water in the community where Patience built her house, we responded to their plea by drilling a borehole and mechanized it. In a few weeks, work on the water project will be completed and the community will have easy access to clean and portable water. The water project, which has a high and significant yield, is drilled and located on Patience’s property. For maintenance and payments of electricity bills, the community would be required to pay a relatively low token amount (equivalent to about 5 cents) for 6 gallons of water.
Patience is anxious to give back for all the good she had accomplished, and we are proud of her!! Sometimes, all someone needs is a little love and support to succeed in life!!