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Short short: The wicked aunt

Mr Amoh was a rich man who lived with his wife, Maame Kyeiwaa, and daughter, Nyamekye, at Mampong. He got a job offer in Tema so he spent most of the week days there and came to his family in Mampong on weekends.

On one of his weekend visits, Mr Amoh decided to take Maame Kyeiwaa along to Tema so that she would know where he  stayed.

Nyamekye went to live with Auntie Grace,  Mr Amoh’s sister, for the period that her mum was away. In order not to inconvenience her,  Auntie Grace  was given money for Nyamekye’s upkeep.

Unfortunately, on their way to Tema, Mr Amoh and Maame Kyeiwaa were involved in a fatal accident and did not survive.  In view of the situation,  Auntie Grace took over Nyamekye’s upkeep.     

She noticed that Nyamekye had sank into a state of depression after she lost her parents.  Nyamekye who used to be a happy go lucky girl and chatted heartily with her mates had withdrawn from them and she hardly participated in classroom discussions as she used to. She cared less about her studies and this affected her performance greatly.

Auntie Grace felt that if she was in the same school with someone she knew, she would change. She, therefore, withdrew her from her school and enrolled her in the same school as her daughter, Akua.

Nyamekye and Akua happened to be of the same age and ended up in the same class. The duo did everything together - they sat, went for break and walked back home together. Auntie Grace’s thought was right. Nyamekye became lively again - she actively participated in class discussions, had long chats especially with her cousin, Akua, and also started studying on her own.

In no time, Nyamekye’s academic performance had improved and she occasionally outperformed her cousin Akua.

After putting in a lot more effort, she became the best student in her class and beat Akua in all subjects. This earned her the praise of her teachers. Unfortunately, this did not go down well with Akua who until Nyamekye was enrolled in the school,  was the best in class.

She became bitter because she  was not  praised as before by her teachers. She started to be cold towards Nyamekye. She went ahead to impress on her mother to send Nyamekye back to where she came from. When she learnt of the reason  behind that, Auntie Grace supported Akua.

She accused Nyamekye of bewitching her daughter and being the cause of her daughter’s poor performance at school.  Nyamekye  was withdrawn from the school and placed in a school that was not well endowed.

She overloaded Nyamekye with chores. Even though these were difficult times for Nyamekye, she took everything in her stride.  As for the school, although the facilities there could not be compared to her former school, she decided to make good use of the limited facilities available.

She stayed a bit late each evening to study and also collected books from her friends in other schools. She also approached teachers for assistance if she had any challenge in a subject. When the teachers saw that she was serious, they were very helpful.
Nyamekye completed school with distinction and had a scholarship to study at the university. She, therefore, left Auntie Grace’s home.

She studied hard to become a medical doctor and was posted to Adom Memorial Hospital in a different region. One day, while attending to patients at the Outpatient Department (OPD), Auntie Grace brought Akua to the hospital. Nyamekye welcomed them warmly.

Grace and her mother couldn’t recognise Nyamekye but she told them who she was. Nyamekye treated Akua after which she took Auntie Grace and Akua to a very beautiful house she had built. From the conversation they had, it was clear that things were not going on well with them financially.

Their sleeping place was even a problem. For the help they gave her when her parents died, she decided to accommodate them in her house where she also helped Akua to get a decent job.

As children, we should try to be humble, respectful and hardworking in every situation we find ourselves.

Patience Hammond,
Standard Preparatory School,
Navrongo.

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