There, while teaching in an inner-city school district, I experienced a rude awakening: many of my students rejected their precious chance to become educated because they saw no way out of their bleak circumstances. My journey took me from a jungle full of poisonous snakes to an elite boarding school where I learned to use utensils for the first time, to the Soviet Union during the perestroika era, and ultimately to the United States. I learned about a famous secondary school my parents could not possibly afford however, I believed that if I traded precious hours of sleep for studying, I would somehow find my way there. A love of reading led me to spend my meager breakfast money on newspapers that opened my eyes to a world I was determined to experience. In my remote Ghanaian village, most parents were illiterate and so did not understand the value of education. Though no one in Boadua had ever progressed beyond elementary school, I was willing to endure any hardship in pursuit of what any reasonable person would consider a pipe dream: a world-class education. My story begins when I was a young boy growing up in a family so large and impoverished that no amount of backbreaking labor could keep our bellies full. It’s about believing anything is possible if you set your heart-and mind-to it. The Boy from Boadua is a story of hunger, hardship, hope, and tenacity.
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