A Ghanaian woman who enrolled in Junior High School at the age of 41 is a stone-throw away from achieving her dream of becoming a health officer.
Felicitas Naa’s inspiring story affirms the saying that belief and determination are constants in success. Born in Tamale, Felicitas had her basic and middle school education in the Northern Region.
At 18, she fell in love after a man pledged to help her continue her education when they get married. Excited by the proposal, Felicitas jumped on it and subsequently got married at the age of 18.
However, things did not go according to plan. Her husband could not help her continue with her education. On the other hand, he himself furthered his education.
As time went on, the husband began to complain about Felicitas’ low education level. “He would always complain about my low level of education,” she told the Graphic Online.
With life becoming more and more difficult, she took to bread selling and sewing to make some money. Her marriage finally collapsed, leaving her in a state of absolute depression with no stable source of income and three children.
But rather than give up, Felicitas decided to give it a second shot by returning to school to educate herself.
“I had to pick myself up and start all over again. I was 40 years then. It was time for me to decide whether it was too late or whether I would start afresh. I choose the latter,” she narrates.
In 2006, she decided to go back to school. Intriguingly, she was 41-year-old when she decided to further her junior secondary school education.
But there was a hitch. After 22 years, the educational system had changed. All senior high schools Felicitas tried to gain admission into would not admit her.
She, therefore, had to undertake the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) as a prerequisite to enter senior high school.
“I was determined to go back to school and so this was not a difficult decision for me to make.” She finally enrolled in the Pedu MA Basic School after numerous failed tries.“I had to barber my hair, sew my uniforms and get ready for school,” she reminisced.“By this time my first daughter had completed senior high school,” she added.
She completed junior high school in 2009 and then gained admission to the Oguaa Senior Technical School to offer a course in General Arts.
Felicitas is currently a trainee at the Tamale School of Hygiene, where she will graduate this year (2019) as a health officer.
“It’s a good decision I took. I am glad I took that decision to go back to school. It changed my life completely.“I have friends I couldn’t have had. I can understand my children better and I even look younger now,” she says of her inspirational journey.
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