I Started ‘Akpatsupa’ With Only 32 Cedis

You may be thinking or wondering that the name Akpatsupa has something to do with something else but in reality it is not. Many people have different meaning and interpreting different things on this! Though, branding or marketing is good for business, people have different views on certain names. Well, the future you picture is the future you will feature, the ‘YOU’ you see is the ‘YOU’ you will become. Therefore picture a great future to feature and desire a great ‘YOU’ to become and the almighty God will see to it that you have featured in the future you have pictured and have become the YOU” you have desired.

If you do not know where you are going, any road is okay for you and if you do not have a vision, then you become vulnerable to anything.A Vision without provision leads to revision of the vision. Most of us have revised our vision because, when we had the vision, to do it in the Dangme land, because of some factors we were unable to do it. There is an old Akan saying that when an orphan is passing behind someone’s house and hears parents advising their children, they must stop to eavesdrop”.

It appears Akpatsupa knows these philosophies in life and she did not bother herself at all in school when she discovered that she was not good academically, in fact she admits she is allergic to academic stuff! So once she saw this and realized her vision she did not revise her vision and today she is enjoying her hard won ambition to start operating a restaurant.

Akpatsupa is a local name that sours in the Dodowa prefecture and every Tom, Dick and Harry knows Akpatsupa base. A marvelous woman with a unique natural grace. Nothing discourages her, bold and courageous. She is like the ancient monk in the Shaolin temple. Her character drew my attention to the ancient monk in the shaolin temple story.

The Ancient Monk story and Akpatsupa connection

You see, in an ancient Shaolin Temple, a novice monk was thinking about quitting. He was tired of his fellow monks laughing at his Kung-Fu skills. Every time he made a mistake, they would take great pride in pointing it out and reminding him that he was not good enough. He packed his bag and went in search of his Master to bid him farewell. When he got to the Master's chamber, there was a cup of water and two small bags of salt on the table. The old man emptied one bag of salt into the cup of water and asked the novice to drink it. The boy took one sip and spat it out. The old man smiled and stroked his beard. "How does it taste?" he asked.

The boy wiped his mouth and replied, "Very bitter, Shifu". The master then took the boy down to the edge of the lake. He emptied the second bag of salt into the lake and asked the boy to drink from the lake. "How does it taste?" he queried for the second time. "It tastes fine, Shifu", was the boy's response. The master patted him on the shoulder and said, "When people doubt you, it is like pouring salt into water. How it affects you depends on whether you are a cup or a lake.

Another Chinese film I watched and the guys presume to be the killer said” life is about 100% , 10% is about what happens to you in life and 90% is how you react to it and therefore challenge people to live their lives to the 90% and not 10%. So my friends, if we define our capabilities based on other people's expectations, then we will never be bigger than cups. But if we set our own expectations higher than what the world sets for us, then we will always prove our critics wrong. Cup or lake, it's all up to you in the Dangme land but not Akpatsupa.

The Life journey of Akpatsupa
Victoria Ayeh, known as Akpatsupa, a mother of five and married to her lovely husband, Mr. Kwame Addo Ayeh and leaving happily. Akpatsupa has employed 36 workers and providing house facilities for some of them. If you meet Akpatsupa, you will never know she is the madam of the place, very humble and submissive and practically doing everything in the restaurant. Akpatsupa, started her life at New -Edubiase where she started her basic education, but surprisingly, she ended her education at class six because in new Edubiase, she worked with a woman in the restaurant business and she developed interest in it. Akpatsupa developed so much love for the business in such a way that, everything about her is the restaurant. According to madam Victorial Ayeh, she started Akpatsupa with 32 cedis only, three hundred and twenty cedis previously (320), though she suffered some setbacks when she started the business, she moved on with perseverance because of the love for the business.

Touching on the name Akpatuspa, she said, the name was codenamed partly because when she started the business, it was on a small platform and she had this corner where she sold alcohol, so when the clients came, she would ask them if they needed medicine, that is the alcohol, so after they tasted her version of the alcohol, the clients got satisfied with her version of the medicine-alcohol. Anytime her clients came to the base, they asked of her version of the medicine-alcohol, or she would say” will you like to smear the medicine”-Akpa (Smear), Tsupa (Medicine) and later it was codenamed Akpatsupa because it was good. Narrating the story to Dangme news team, we both laughed and moved on.

Akpatsupa is a Christian and worships at the Philadelphia Presby Church, Dodowa–Matetse. According to Akaptsupa, her favourite local pastors are Catechist Laweh and Pastor Agbodeka of Somanya, Nationally, Pastor Okatakyire at Lapaz. Akpatsupa loves dancing, music but her favorite music is reggae and highlife. She loves Bob Marley especially the track, “Zion Train is coming on my way”.

Indeed, Zion train is coming on my way; she has sponsored a number of corporate programmes including her partnership with Rite FM, Green FM and Kwame Dzokoto food projects on TV3. She also read news on Green FM one holiday. Touching on why she loves corporate programmes, she said “I didn’t know God will favour me this way, that is why I support such programs” Indeed she sponsored the launching of the Dangme news in the Dangme land. Akpatsupa loves fufu and palm nut soup and she loves her daughter very well because according to her, the daughter is passionate about her but she dislikes her daughter on the grounds that she is always late to work. For her husband, she loves and cherishes him because he provides him with quality advice.

Demystifying the Akpatsupa Myths
According to Madam Victoria, she feels so sad that people have negative perceptions about the term “Akpatsupa”. According to her, some used to say that the name is synonymous with Prostitution, Some say,“I’m a drunkard and lots more and that is why I codenamed the place Akpatsupa”. She is using this medium to demystify the myths on that. It is not true and the real meaning is what I explained.

For her advice to the Dangme chiefs, Madam Victoria is urging them to unite to pave way for development and for the youth, she is advising them to take their education serious “but if you realized education is not your field, just stop,go on your kneels and pray and ask God to reveal your area” she stated.

By Dr. Raphael Nyarkotey Obu: ND,MSc, PhD