Dear reader,
I feel to worship! Join me for a moment to thank God. Oh, He is a good God! He’s been faithful💯. Just say Thank you to God, for all He’s done, for who He is. A God who is majestic in all His ways. Glory to Jesus! Hosanna is He.
Welcome back to the brave series! Today, we have a special guest in our midst! I call her, “Elizabeth 4.0” (you will soon know why😸). I remember the first day I met her, her humility humbled me. Kai! I walked up to her after attending a program at which she gave a spoken word, we got talking, she was very relatable and friendly… and so, the journey began from there.
Elizabeth is a woman of valor, someone I deeply admire and I am grateful to know. Today, she shares her story. One, that speaks life, one I am blessed to share with you. I present to you, ” Elizabeth Maame Esi Ewudiwa”. An Alumni of Central University, Ghana, and a joy to behold.
She writes……
“As a little child, I had heard so much about planting a tree and keeping a garden. My teacher successfully made it seem the only justifiable act of an earth citizen. So, one day I decided to make my own garden. “I will plant something I love!” I told myself. Guess what I planted?
RICE!
About 3 to 4 grains buried into the soil. I was careful not to make it excessive because I had just learned about “thinning”; the removal of some plants, or parts of plants, to make room for the growth of others. Meticulously, I planted my rice. Every morning eager to go to school, I sprinkled some water and prayed for the sun to shine its beautiful face because I LOVED RICE. I told my mum about my rice 3 days later when I saw the physical evidence, the germination of my grains. As an African woman full of power and valor, she said, “You better get that thing off the ground”. Looking back, I understand better. Mum was concerned with the process of harvest and not the product itself.
At age 13 I had my first major achievement as a member of the Lagos state children’s parliament where I represented the capital city, Ikeja, the constituency for 3 years. On this platform was my first trip outside the country to South Africa on a government fully sponsored leadership training. Young, but this was the beginning of leadership and personal development. At age 16, I had my first job as a home tutor. I taught English and mathematics to 4 Asian kids at the British Deputy High Commission. They employed me for this because they thought the kids would relate better to a younger person like myself. On 2 occasions, I acted as a babysitter for Huda and Zaki to earn more money. My parents were temporarily unemployed in that period and at age 16, I had my little contribution to keep us through a tough time.
I had graduated from secondary and my parents did not have enough money to further my education. I was a very bright student; my awards and report cards would have told you. I won the highest achievement award for my district, 3-time spelling bee champion, a former parliamentarian, the best speaker of Junior Achiever project, runner up of the BRF essay competition, winner of Vision 2020 essay competition sponsored by Chevron & Shell, Youth panelist at the 3-day road to Rio-De-Janeiro, winner of Student of the decade award eventually. All these achievements highlight to tell you that anyone who met me would have told me I had a promising future. But as you know, life does not respect awards or grades, it gives value to those who stretch beyond their reach. As you know again, nobody has it all figured out.
I graduated in 2012 with a glimpse of hope of continuing my education. I searched for scholarships abroad to a futile end. I did not like the Nigerian education system and so I wanted to return to the home I left since I was 2 years – Ghana. But you know another thing about life, you do not get what you want but what you demand. After trying the UK and receiving 2 admissions with no financial capacity to honor, I tried another local scheme before I gave up. I applied for a scholarship program and I got it. This program gave me a full scholarship to study Journalism, Psychology & English in India for 3 years.
I was extremely excited, but only initially. After about 3 months of a family of 4 trying to survive with little income, my father got a job as a driver for a diplomat in the Canadian High Commission. Fast forward the story, I declined the offer for the scholarship. After sharing the news with my father’s boss who had come to like me so much, the couple advised my parents to not let me go. India is very far from Nigeria (where I was at that time), I was just 17 years (below the legal age to do somethings on my own), we had no relative in India, we have no money to probably sponsor frequent visits and finally, India was rocking the news that year with a lot of rape cases. They told me not to go and rather offered to sponsor me to any university of my choice in Ghana as they suggested I’ll get a good education there and I would be safer because I would be home (where Dad comes from).
Lesson number 1, God works in mysterious ways; Total strangers, Canadians (not Africans) sponsored a young girl through school with no strings attached. After their repatriation in my second year, I was scared they would not remember me but God did not forget to always supply to them and supply through them.
I had grown to be an emotionally strong girl. I had suffered lack and abundance. I had dined with the Whites and enjoyed their fantasy and go back home to my little African girl’s life. God exposed me to different worlds and today I am still unraveling this mystery.
In 2017, my mother left me. It was the darkest night of my life. She had been sick for months and maybe even a year. I saw my mum grow lean suddenly. I returned from school after vacations to see my jovial mother who loved me so much and had sacrificed everything for my survival, I saw her dying. But faith told me she would be fine. There were nights I stood next to her and shed tears till my eyes got swollen. I prayed to God in the darkest nights begging that He should heal her. She was just not well, and we could not tell what was wrong. After several months, my mom did not look like whom I knew physically. She became slim, dark (she was a super fair and pretty lady), you have no idea the pains that hit me at the thought of writing this. We visited the hospital and she was told she needed an x-ray scan. She was scared of everything. She feared to leave me alone. I heard her those nights when watched the TV together and she suddenly turned her face aside during our laughter, she was in tears. I saw them, I pretended sometimes, and I reacted later at night when she was not there. I heard them, those words that came out of a woman who was telling her kids to take care of the house because she is going out. I spoke hope, I promised her God is alive and He would heal.
When she died, I was disappointed. I grew cold to hope, I hated the thought of hope. I was angry. I was broken. She passed on 2 weeks to my 20th birthday. I still remember the battles in my closed-door prayers. 2 weeks of seclusion and God completed transformed my anger to compassion and my hatred to love. I loved God. I knew something I never knew about this Great God. I got to know that thing we hear everything which we may not fully understand – GOD IS GREAT. GOD IS SOVEREIGN. GOD IS GOOD. HE LOVES YOU! I was in the second semester of my 3rd year. My little brother and father were entangled living with friends because our house was taken, and my Dad was scammed twice in an attempt to rent a new place. In my final year, I had to combine school and work to earn some money for my upkeep and thesis.
Lesson two, God is in control. Lesson three, life is a journey so never think your present state will be your future. Lesson 4, God, you, and your purpose in life are the 3 most important things that exist.
I am not the girl I was. I have had 23 years of twists and turns. I had sorrow and I had joy. I had disappointments and I had a favor. I had failures and I had success. When I was 16, I told my mum that I would write her story one day, I would call it ‘LIVE TO TELL THE STORY’. She didn’t live to tell her story, but I’ll do that for her, so I add her in every triumph tale I share because it is important to me that she LIVED all 19years, 320 days of my life to see me grow. Mother, she is a part of my story which cannot be skipped. She died but she lives
This story is dedicated to appreciating the great works of God in the lives of His children, especially those of us who lost hope and felt cheated by life. This piece is to the “cheers” of those people on whose backs we traveled this long road of success, but they left along the way because fate did not permit them to continue. May their memories alive, and may their impact thrive.
My closing remark to you is that whilst you are tempted to feel cheated or compare yourself to another, remember that we are on the same race but we run different tracks.
In December 2018, I graduated from Central University with a final GPA of 4.0/4.0 in BSc Business Administration (Human Resource Management major). A record-breaking achievement! I was awarded the Chancellor’s Award for overall best student, best female student award, and best Human Resource student award. I was admitted by the Institute of Human Resource Management Practitioners to take my professional program under a full scholarship. A year later, I represented Ghana in the global model united nations, Thailand, where I won the most outstanding delegate award on the panel for SDGoal 4 -quality education. 2 years later (in 2020), I was sponsored on a full scholarship to Harvard University for the HPAIR program. I was the only African scholar and one of the few delegates in Global Markets and the Economy. I met the Head of Policy, Panel, Management team from Deloitte, worked on the Indonesian energy sector for the Asian Bureau, the Sahel region crisis for the United Nation case.
In the end, be inspired. You cannot be BOLD or BRAVE if you do not know that life is a circle that revolves around your faith. God is the only constant we can hold on to in this changing world. So let change happen in your life but whilst it’s changing, hold on to the true you (a wonderfully and fearfully crafted child of God) – THE PURPOSE YOU CARRY IS GREATER THAN THE CHALLENGES YOU MEET.
I am Elizabeth, the girl saved by grace and love by the greatest King. Let us catch up at the top! That is where survivors live.
Shalom!”
Elizabeth as a spoken word poet 
Well, there you have it! The one and only Elizabeth Ewudiwa. Thank you so much, Elizabeth. I honor you, I am grateful for the gift of you. God grant you peace and strength to keep on going higher and higher always!
My dear reader never give up on your dreams, never stop going at what you love. Never stop believing. Trials may come, in those times, I want you to be stronger. You are able to achieve whatever you set your mind to. Please! Remain focused and know, that God is for you 💯.
I speak into your weekend, favor, goodness, and joy shall locate you. I pray for a financial increase, that you will meet your destiny helpers. I pray, that your faith will be made strong, this week, fear won’t succeed over you. Death passes over you and your household! Sickness runs from you! Salvation is yours, I pray you to receive the gift of salvation! In Jesus’ name, amen. You are loved dearly.
Yours Truly,
Boye Paulina Sharon
20th July, 2020
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