Born and raised in Australia, Amma Boakye’s upbringing was no different to the majority of teenagers her age. Although a trip to Ghana with her family in 2002 completely changed Amma’s perspective of the world.
As we sat down for an interview, the seventeen year-old Loyola College student described what the current situation in Ghana is like. “The country itself is breathtakingly beautiful,” she said, “although it lacks many basic services such as a good public health system and easily accessible roads.”
Amma’s parents, Cecilia Yeboah and Nana Boakye were both born in Ghana so the trip in 2002 was the first since their settlement in Australia. Being their first trip, Amma says that the experience was a culture shock for her and her siblings as they were all used to the Australian norms. “We found the Ghanian culture, which is completely different, a little confronting,” she said.
As overwhelming as the experience was, she believes that it was just as educational and insightful. “I saw Ghana as a country with great potential for future development,” she said, “because of its access to natural resources like gold, cocoa and fertile land.”
Amma’s aunty lives in a rural town near one of Ghana’s larger cities called Seikwa. According to Amma, the journey there was long, bumpy and rough. “A trip by car which should have taken about 15 minutes ended up taking about an hour due to poor road conditions,” she said.
On arrival, Amma’s family was surprised to discover that her aunty, Veronica Appiah- Kubi and uncle, Akwasi Appiah- Kubi were the sole basic medical care providers for the small community including maternal and child health. Amma’s aunty is a qualified midwife and a nurse practitioner, but almost all of the services that she was giving were free of charge.
With little financial support, the funds come from Veronica and Akwasi’s own pockets. “Witnessing the simple care provided by my aunty, my parents initiated their support by donating some money to help my aunty with the great work that she was doing,” Amma said.
“After our visit, my parents continued to periodically send donations,” she said, “although on our second visit to Ghana, I came up with the idea to create a charity organisation to help with the running costs and improve the condition for my aunty and her few helpers.”
Since returning back to Australia, Amma has kept her promise to pursue this charity. “My involvement in the charity is, through networking with friends and their friends, and also other experienced charity workers, is locating and contacting organisations who are able and willing to support us by donating money or healthcare equipments,” she said.
Every two years, Amma and her family return to Ghana to deliver the goods and funds that they have collected through their charity, Nyarkoh Family Health Fund. Amma says that these goods may include nappies for the infants, stethoscopes and other medical tools and of course, money to help them support themselves.
Leading a busy lifestyle, it’s surprising that Amma is able to fit the charity work into her schedule. Although she said that she is relieved that her friends offer their support for the charity whenever they can, often assisting in contacting local businesses.
Amma has just completed her year 11 studies and is currently enjoying her final holidays before she begins year 12. She admits that she is a very creative person, so subjects such as textiles and studio arts will be a breeze. With two languages already under her belt, Indonesian is another subject that Amma says she should do well in.
“I usually dedicate my spare time to sports such as athletics and basketball but have stopped participating regularly to try and keep up with my school load,” she said. She has also completed drama and acting lessons over the duration of the year.
When asked what she wants to do when she’s older, Amma has more direction than most. “I have always dreamed of becoming a professional actress,” she said, “but I wouldn’t mind going into the law profession due to the social justice appeal of it.”
Amma is a strong believer in charity work and endeavors to encourage more Australians to get involved. “Charity work could possibly be the very thing that makes people feel worthy in society and therefore turn into better people,” she said. “I think it’s something that would help them appreciate what they already have and make them generally more sympathetic to the needs of others.”
Amma’s ambitions are certainly not minor. She plans to take a break from the charity throughout year 12, but will resume straight after, hoping to expand and develop it to achieve more to help not only Ghana but the whole of West Africa. “I believe that if more Australians were involved in charities, we would be a step closer to making, restoring and creating world peace.”
Words: Joely Mitchell
Photo: Sean Porter
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