From Agbogbloshie slum to Legon medical school; the story of Dr Olivia Agbenyeke

  • Olivia Agbenyeke, graduated with 7As and one B2 from the Keta Senior High Technical School, Volta region – Parents of the young brilliant graduate had been faced with financial setbacks which stalled her tertiary education.

  • Olivia Agbenyeke had to help her father operate his drinking joint within the slums of Agbogbloshie, serving as a bartender .

  • Six years on, Agbenyeke, has graduated from the University of Ghana as a medical doctor .

Olivia Agbenyeke, a young resilient high school graduate, who just six years ago, was stuck in one of Ghana’s worst slums, Agbogbloshie, serving as a bartender in her father’s drinking joint despite attaining remarkable scores in Science.

Olivia Agbenyeke obtained 7As and one B2 after completing Keta Senior High Technical School as a science student but had been faced with financial hurdles. The young graduate’s parents and family simply did not have the means to help their bright daughter to move progress the education ladder.

A good teacher in her secondary school Ketasco, Foga Nukunu, took the significant life-changing initiative of asking a top journalist, Kofi Ambidextrous Yeboah of the Daily Graphic, to write and publish Olivia’s story to garner support for the realization of Olivia’s dream.

Foga Nukunu still raves about Olivia’s academic brilliance, her humility, her discipline and respectfulness. The story which was headlined ”Olivia, the glitter in the Agbogbloshie slum,” was brilliantly written by Kofi Ambitextrous and shared on Facebook. Following the report, Phoenix Life Assurance Company stepped in to offer support to Olivia Agbenyeke. Despite the bitter lemons life threw at a young intelligent girl, Agbenyeke saw beyond her challenges. She envisaged her dreams, driven by passion to change her world and the lives of her loved ones.

Six years on, Agbenyeke graduated from the University of Ghana as medical doctor on Friday, November 15, 2019. Her achievement will continue to serve as a great inspiration to many especially young girls. From Agbogbloshie, one of the ‘worst living spaces’ in Ghana, the bartender’s daughter, now Dr Olivia Agbenyeke, will wear white. Dr Olivia Agbenyeke’s journey to attaining this feat was highlighted on Facebook by Ben Dostei Malor.

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In a related story, certainly, dreams do come alive and a determined graduate of the University of Ghana with first-class honours, Alice Xorlaly Amegah, has added another feat after she recently completed a master’s programme at Oxford University. Prior to chalking another laudable milestone, Xorlaly, had been ”in a desperate situation just last year, as she sought to embark on a great academic journey” to pursue her master’s in Comparative and International Education in the UK. In spite of the major setback which threatened her resolve to bring her dreams to life, the young Ghanaian first-class graduate got creative with a solution.

Source:Yen.com.gh

Email:elora.akpotosevbe@yahoo.com