(written by )

pain in the flesh can be erased, but not in the heart. I shivered in the cold rainy evening with no place to lay my head. All the shops on the streets of “Koforidua” were closed. Taking shelter on their verandas was like shielding yourself from the rain with fishing net. I had no extra clothing. My only hope was the GH₵ 2.50. I reached for polythene from the garbage gathered by the shop owners to protect myself from the harsh cold rainy weather. Life had really been unfair to me. I remembered my grandmother used to tell me my parents had always wanted their first child to be a Lawyer. Oh heavens! “God, I lift my soul into your hands.” I prayed solemnly as I tried to sleep. Fear struck me as I covered my wet body on the wet floor. I wished I could really ask God questions about my existence on this earth. He seemed far away. My pain was too heavy to keep realizing God was still there for me. In my sleep I dreamt an old woman and her granddaughter came to me begging for money to eat. Out of sympathy and empathy I gave out my GH₵ 2.50. That was foolish of me I guessed. I had a painful knock on my head with the shout: “eri eri sↄri fi hↄ” meaning: “thief! thief! Stand up from there.” That was the owner of the shop. Goodness! It was already morning. I quietly rolled away my polythene, apologized and left. She kept shouting just to gain attention of passersby. I still did not utter a word. I turned and said to her: “Maame mi nyꜫ eri. Na Nyame nyhira wu” meaning: “Mummy, I am not a thief but God bless you.” I left the woman, and I headed nowhere. Guess what! I tried to untie the money from my wet cloth only to realize the money was gone. Jesus Christ! I wasn’t dreaming after all. I really gave out that money. What would I do now? As I wandered in hunger I heard my favorite hymn been sang from afar. “When we walk with the Lord, in the light of His words…” Drawing closer I realized it was a Church. With a sigh of relief I entered boldly. Just a step in from the entrance I was stopped by two uniformed beautiful ladies with sashes. They were Ushers. They held their nostrils as they spoke to me. “Hey girl, stop there!” One of the ladies pushed me aside. “Where do you think you are going? You smell. What are you doing here?” Can I please have some clothes to wear and some food to eat? I politely requested. But to my uttermost surprise, one of them yielded at me. “You aren’t serious; this is a Church for God’s sake, not an orphanage. Please leave here before Pastor comes. He won’t be happy to see you standing here. As you can see we are having a Breakfast Meeting for the business men and women in the church, and certainly you aren’t invited.” Okay I understand you. But can I please have some money from you to at least buy some food, I am very hungry? The second lady looked quite nice. She pulled out her wallet and gave me GH₵ 1. The other one with the hair dyed and very repulsive snatched the money from me and said, “you filthy fool, go to your parents.” The second lady took the money from her and gave it back to me. I thanked them and left. As I descended the stairs the Pastor came in. He never even noticed my presence. He bypassed me and entered the Church. His aids followed; glamorously dressed. I watched them and solemnly asked God, “Heavenly Father, is that Church you established on earth?”

dry my clothes. Opposite the Church was a Mosque. Adjacent the Mosque was this local restaurant. I went to inquire if I could wash dishes. With God still by my side I was employed as a dish washer. This brought great joy to me. I wasn’t concerned about how much I will be paid, but was happy to the fact that I will certainly have something to eat even if it were left over foods. The owner of the restaurant brought me new clothes and made me took my bath. Hajia Sekinatu was her name. She was very kind. After close of work she took home and made me part of her family. Three days later she told me I was a respectful hardworking child, and that she was recommending me to a friend of hers who needed someone to help him take care of his two year old child. I had no other choice than to accept her proposal. In some few minutes a beautiful huge black car arrived. It was driven by a handsome young man. He smiled at me and asked Hajia; is she the child? Hajia nodded and he said, “She is so beautiful.” He got closer and said “I am Jake; you can call me Uncle Jake. I guess you are Adobea?” I nodded timidly. “I am taking you to your new home.” Hajia hugged me; with tears in her eyes she said “I love you and will miss you, but you deserve a better life.” I left with Uncle Jake.

months in Uncle Jake’s house. It was heaven on earth. His wife was simply adorable. They had only one child; who was two years old then. I became their second child. I enrolled in school and became the eye of the new found family. Uncle Jake had planned a family vacation to London when school vacated. To him I had brought joy to them. School vacated and I became the best student in class. Uncle Jake and the wife were so happy. He brought me my passport with a visa that we were travelling to London the following day. I was so happy. I couldn’t sleep that night. I thought about my parents and my grandmother.

at exactly 5:30pm. Check In time was 6:00pm and Departure time was 7:30pm. Uncle Jake, the wife and Jerry their two year old son went through the Check In process successfully. I couldn’t wait to be in London. It got to my turn and two Policemen asked me to follow them. I got scared and confused. I was taken to a confined room. One of them asked me whether I was the owner of the blue suitcase. I said yes. Uncle Jake bought that suitcase for me just yesterday. They asked who Uncle Jake was, and I told them he was my uncle and we were all travelling together with his wife and their two year old son. The blue suitcase was opened and goodness, to my shock it was filled with packed white powdery substance. They were twenty in number when counted. They were hidden in a doll Uncle Jake bought for me a day ago. Can you identify that Uncle Jake? One policeman asked. They took me to the waiting lobby and there were Uncle Jake and wife with their son sleeping. To my surprise Uncle Jake and the wife denied ever knowing me. His passport was checked and his name wasn’t Jake but Prince Davis. The Policemen apologized disturbing him.

One of the Policemen looked at me and said, “girl, you are arrested for carrying substance suspected to be cocaine. I stood there speechless, motionless and dead within…