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| Receiving my Ab-initio Certificate as Cabin Crew |
On Sunday,
29th January this year as I sat and listened to Rev.
Delali Bodza preaching at church, I knew I still had to persevere if I wanted to realize more of my
dreams. Because whatever good thing we desire for ourselves, would surely be
challenged. But we must persevere in prayer, in doing what is required of us, to
position ourselves for the good we want to achieve. Whenever I think about my
journey into the Airline Industry, I can only say, if not for God! Indeed as a
young girl growing up, I was always elated when I saw one of my paternal
Aunties, visit us at home clad in her fine office apparel. Her fragrance would
last for hours long after she’s departed our home, and my siblings and I would
dash quickly to daddy’s side for some of the goodies she left behind. She
exuded so much confidence, grace and sheer presence. I asked my dad what she
does and he said, “your Aunty is an Airhostess”. He was so proud of his sister, we actually had a photo of her framed on our living room wall. It sounded like a big deal to
me, as little as I was at the time. Of course many questions followed afterwards - day in and day out, I entertained the idea of becoming like her.
As I grew up
into a teenager, the passion grew even more. At school, my father encouraged us
all to take the French subject seriously. He simply couldn't fathom why French
had not been incorporated into our educational syllabus soon after Independence. Knowing my desire to be an Airhostess, he said it would be a plus in making it to Ghana Airways, if I could speak
French. So I took much delight in the language and would pay attention whenever
Mr. Degle was in class. “Degle-man” as we affectionately referred to him, was
the French teacher at my Primary school and was passionate about getting us to
understand this language too.
Back home,
Dad would have the French teacher living in the boy’s quarters, take us through
extra French lessons after school hours. I loved this language and failed to understand
why so many of my friends didn’t enjoy the subject. By sheer grace, I had the
opportunity to travel to Switzerland with Angela Karikari-Mensah, as
participants in the Coalition of the Children of the Earth Summit. I witnessed
first-hand what an Airhostess does. At thirteen years by then, and being my
first time travelling abroad, I was quite scared. But the Airhostess made us
feel at ease with her smiles. She brought us a cool bag for kids, because we
travelled as UMs, or minors on that flight. She brought us food and drinks,
milk, etc. oh it was exciting. Well we did not have quite the same experience on the return flight
though. Because we met another Airhostess who was not too enthused about our
requests for almost everything onboard. And I guess that’s why she gave us no
warning at all when we asked for this bright coloured pinkish drink which tasted
so bitter and awful. It simply means people can be different in their approaches to work. The great ones leave good memories, and the not so great, teach us some lessons for the future. Anyway, it was several years later, that I discovered the name of the 'bitter' drink - it was grapefruit juice
Hahaha. Oh boy, only God knows how long it took to finish the first big gulp we
both had in our mouths – of course the rest of the drink stayed in the cup
until it was time to clear the cabin, as we hit a terribly turbulence. Before
touching down, these attendants would walk briskly through the cabin, even when
the aircraft seemed to be in steep slopes - they kept walking through the cabin
to check on seatbelts, etc. I knew at that moment that I would do all it takes
to join this profession. I will share more about Switzerland’s experience some
other day. But the flights to and fro, reinforced my passion and desire to
explore other countries and reignited my desire to become an Airhostess.
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| After one of our long-haul flights |
After Basic
School, I decided to pursue a General Arts programme that would afford me the
opportunity to Study Geography – to learn about different places, and French to
gain an added advantage, etc. However, luck was not on my side because Accra
Girls’ Secondary (now Senior High) School did not offer a combination that
would allow me study Geography and French at the same time; as my elective programme.
French
was combined with History and CRM or some other course. But I didn’t relent; I
persevered in the option I was given which was Geography, Economics and
Elective Mathematics. Tough combination for one who wasn’t a Maths fun. But our
Elective Maths teacher was patron of the School’s computer club which encouraged me to join the club and learn more about computers. So it wasn’t all doom and gloom (this actually came in very handy, because while some friends were attending computer classes after secondary school, I was studying French) – The computer club meetings and excursions broadened my knowledge and soft skills in computers
and gave me the launchpad I needed to be computer literate. After Secondary School, there was a one year break before
University, as I noted earlier. My parents enrolled me at the Alliance Française d’Accra where I
continued studying French from level 100 until level 500. This spanned one full year and half where I got to meet my dear Melissa Obro Mitcham, Vivian Badoo, Mrs. Erica Wilson, Nene Akwetey, Stephen Kemetse and many more. I
successfully passed my CEFP 2 (Practical French) and Diplome de langue
Française by the grace of God. I recall the long walks each day from the 37 trotro
station, to Alliance Française. Tuition was expensive then and probably still is. It challenged me further to make every cedi count. I continued to the Ghana
Airways Training Centre to pursue their Airline Passenger Handling, Sales and
Reservations Course. Certainly, this journey didn’t come without drama - as I was almost turned away for joining the class late. But I knew deep down that it was all
by God’s grace. I met great people along the way, who inspired and challenged
me not to give up on my dreams. We all need people that would motivate us to do more.
