Short Story: It’s never too late
The enrolment of 57-year-old Madam Elizabeth Yamoah at the Oben L/A School was received with mixed feelings in her community.
This was because while for her it was a realisation of a dream come true, for many it was a bit embarrassing for a woman of her age to be in the same class with children she could give birth to.
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Since her childhood, it had been the dream of Madam Yamoah to become a professional nurse. Unfortunately, her dream did not materialise because she was made to drop out of school in primary four due to the financial constraints her family was facing.
At that time, her father had suddenly died and because of the difficulty her mother was going through to fend for all four of her children including her, she and her siblings dropped out of school.
She started by helping her mother in her fanti kenkey business. When she came of age, she engaged in various trading activities to support the upkeep of her children and her husband.
Despite being a grown up, the interest to become a nurse was still there, however, Madam Yeboah’s meagre income meant that she could not afford to go to school at the same time that she was seeing her three out of her four children through their education.
But she did not lose hope, she always said one day, she would go back to school to become the professional nurse she so much wanted to be.
That day finally came. Following the government’s introduction of the Free Senior High School policy, Madam Yamoah decided to take advantage of the opportunity. Although she had four children, one of whom was an adult, and two grandchildren, that did not discourage her from going back to school.
Friends, neighbours and even some family members laughed at her when she announced her intention to them. Later, when they started seeing her carrying her school bag to school, they talked and whispered behind her but she was not bothered.
With her motto being it was never too late for her to accomplish her dream, she successfully completed the three-year junior high school (JHS) programme and was among those who successfully passed the West African Senior Schools Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
Fortunately for her, she has received notification that she has successfully been admitted into one of the country’s nursing training institutions.
On the day she opened the envelope containing the admission form, she looked at it pensively and declared that even though some people thought it was too late for her to go to school, it was never too late.
Madam Yamoah is now at the Nursing Training College. Time they say is an asset and Madam Yamoah is on her way to become a professional nurse.
Calista Akosua Israel,
Pentecost School, Madina.
Accra.