Journeying through taxing motherhood - experiences of mothers
“If you educate a man you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a family (nation)”. Dr James Emmanuel Kwegyir-Aggrey
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Mother's Day is an annual event which falls on different days, depending on the country where it is celebrated.
It celebrates the achievements and efforts of mothers and mother figures, and it is a day for many people to show their appreciation towards mothers and mother figures worldwide.
In the interviews below, a number of mothers have shared their experience on their taxing journey through motherhood and the efforts being made to make this journey successful.
Ms Felicia Adu Brown
A 55-year-old teacher began her interview with the song Ebenezer, saying: “This is how far the Lord has brought me”, while she danced and waved her white handkerchief in readiness to tell her success story of motherhood.
“I am a proud mother of six and a grandmother of 10 today by the grace of God, but the journey of motherhood has been very challenging, and I do not wish this for any mother.”
“However, I never regret what I have gone through for my children and although I don’t wish same for any mother, for the sake of my children, if in reincarnation I am faced with a similar situation, I would do what I did and even more to make my children happy.”
She said the challenges she encountered as a mother had now made her the proud mother of two managers of reputable institutions in Ghana, a graduate teacher, a journalist and an engineer, adding that, “Although they are all still young, they are doing very well, to the admiration of those who witnessed my suffering.”
She said her journey of motherhood began when, as a young graduate of the St Theresa’s Training College, the Lord blessed her with a good husband, an aeronautical engineer in the Ghana Air Force; the Lord blessed them with five children, with the first being twins.
She said “although we were not too wealthy, we began to give our children the best in life, particularly in education and social life until he (my husband) left us painfully in 1997, leaving me with very challenging moments in raising my children.”
“My woes as a single, hopeless but determined Christian mother began on that fateful day, 27 March, 1997 when I watched my husband die at the Police Hospital 20 years ago.”
“There was virtually no support from his once loving family after his death and I was accused of killing their family member.”
She mentioned that her journey of motherhood was a very challenging and difficult one, but with determination, she sold virtually everything, including clothes, cooking utensils, furniture, electronics, etc. “just to give my children a better future that their late father desired for them”.
A mother of two, Mrs Vida Frimpong
Mrs Frimpong mentioned that she had a bad experience when she was bleeding at a time that she was due to deliver her baby. She explained that though it was a terrifying experience, it was always a great joy after going through such a horrible experience and delivering safely.
"I am always happy and glad to see my children, because they give me hope for the future. They are brilliant, always reading and learning - to be a pilot and a lawyer, “she noted.
Mrs Frimpong stated that it was always a bad moment to see her children getting sick, but luckily for her, they hardly fell sick.
Narrating an unforgettable situation, she mentioned that her son suffered some burns; she had to rush him to the hospital, pointing out that, “it is always worrying when your children get hurt and their father blames the mother for allowing that to happen, meanwhile no mother will be happy to see her children hurt.”
She commended responsible fathers for supporting the upkeep of the home, saying it made the process of motherhood less stressful.
She advised prospective mothers, not to rush in life because motherhood was a process and every woman would experience it. Therefore, they should plan and prepare adequately in order not to allow their children to suffer.
She advised those who mistakenly get pregnant not to abort it because children are a blessing. She again urged the youth to abstain from premarital sex to avoid unwanted pregnancies and accompanying challenges.
Mrs Evelyn Osei-Appiah, a mother of four
Mrs Osei-Appiah, a beautician, said she had to close down her beauty shop which was located at Osu, just to enable her to stay at home to take care of her children.
“I believe I am a strong woman and very hardworking. I woke up at dawn for many years to prepare meals, bathe my children and get them ready on time before the school bus came.”
“I never missed any of their school meetings and helping them with their homework.”
“I remember when we moved into our new home on the Spintex road, I got a land closer to the house where I wanted to open a container to start my beauty shop because my children were old enough by then but the unfortunate thing happened.”
On December 13, 2006, her second girl was knocked down by a car. Her knee bones were crushed and after surgery, she had to stay home for a whole year taking care of her. Her schedules were centred around her and eventually, she had to lose that piece of land, which was a great deal for her because she had already paid but the landlord gave it out and never refunded her money to her.
“Fast forward to 2016, history has repeated itself but in a different way because this time around I have dedicated my time to take care of my first grandchild while my daughter is working.”
“God bless all hardworking mothers,” she said.
Veronica Abena Akoteng-Bonsrah, 50, mother of four
She said she had to undergo a hysterectomy (a surgery to remove a woman's uterus (womb), after her fourth child at 35 because of pregnancy-related complications which threatened her life.
At the age of 26 she got pregnant with her first child. She faced a number of challenges; she had to sell baby clothes at the Kaneshie Market to be able to take care of herself and prepare for her unborn baby.
Abena Comfort, as she is popularly called, faced challenges with the AMA task force every day for selling at unapproved places at the market, and there were days that the task force would put her on a table and cane her without considering the fact that she was a pregnant woman.
She used to sleep on a mat in a flat that was rented for her by the father of her unborn child, whom she broke up with before giving birth due to misunderstandings between them.
“I had my last born at the age of 35 years. This was after I had been advised not to have more babies after the third child because my womb was weak, but I didn’t listen and got pregnant with my last born.”
“I always recount with gratitude to God how I became bedridden during my pregnancy for some months, and though I had a normal birth the doctors said they had to take my womb out or else I was going to die, but thank God we both survived and my last baby is 14 years now.”
“I am very grateful to God for my children who have grown so well, are well educated and doing very well.”