Teni Agana said that she was motivated by a picture she saw of a girl in a graduation gown to further her education.
At 14-years she lost her father.
Her mother could no longer afford the increasing bills and also provide for the family. They, therefore, moved from Takoradi where they had lived all her life.
Teni Agana told Accra-based Joy FM that she and her family moved up North, where they were originally from.
The Ashesi graduate Teni Agana said even though Northern Ghana is known for its limited educational resources “we moved because we didn’t have to pay rent in our family house and we didn’t have to pay electricity because there was none.”
When they moved up North she helped her mother work at a "chop bar," an eatery that serves local dishes, to fund fees at her school, where she earned top marks.
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She revealed that she was motivated by a picture she saw of a girl in a graduation gown to gain higher education,
“I saw a picture of a girl with a graduation gown and it was so beautiful. I didn’t understand what [the gown] was, but I knew it was linked to an education,” she recalled.
With this motivation, she worked hard in order to make money to further her education.
She worked as a head porter, carrying heavy loads for people for a paltry fee, and worked at a local market, where she dodged encounters of rape. She recalls nights where she didn’t have a place to sleep, so she’d sleep on filthy market grounds, where she’d tie her leg to that of another female, protecting them from men who could possibly rape them.
“We used a basin as a pillow. It was normal…because I had to keep moving,” adding that “I starved myself to save for school.”
Teni made GH¢15 Teni a day. with her mother’s help, she made enough money for school fees, but tragedy struck the family again when a bus hit her mother, leaving her in critical condition and in need of money for medical care.
“All the money we saved we had to pay for her hospital bills,” she said.
However, that turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
“At the hospital, I met a woman who was crying because her only child needed blood. I checked my blood and found out I was O positive.” Her blood type matched the child’s and she proceeded to donate her blood.
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The woman she helped thanked her and told her about Comfort, a campaign designed to educate girls from the north of Ghana. During the application process, she applied for a scholarship funded by MasterCard. She was awarded money and gained acceptance to Ashesi University, one of Ghana’s premier private schools.
“Ashesi is everything. It is different in a good way.” She was quick to add that it was not all rosy at Ashesi.
In her first year, she decided to study computer programming although she had never touched a computer before then.
At the end of her first year, she failed 3 out of 4 classes. Her GPA stood at 1.25.
“The next semester I had to work extra hard. At the end of the year, the school gave me a personal academic advisor. Then I went to 3.0 [G.P.A]. Then I got on the Dean’s list.”
Then she won the Scholarship, Leadership & Citizenship Award, a highly-selective award given only to the school’s top students. She graduated from the University last weekend.
The Ashesi University’s President Patrick Awuah said they are proud of her.