I have been a carpenter before, Gifty Anti reveals

Gifty Anti

For a lot of people who see her on television today, Gifty Anti is regarded as a pampered, well groomed lady who has never known a day of hard work in her life, but would anybody ever imagine or believe that the charming presenter has worked as a carpenter before just to make ends meet?

Well, as surprising as it is, it is true. She has hit nails with a hammer, planed and sandpapered wood and in her own words, "I have also been a hawker before selling all kinds of things."

In an interview with Adom Entertainment News in celebration of International Women's Day, the beautiful host of the Standpoint on GTV revealed that life, when she was growing up, was no bed of roses.

She lived with her dad during her formative years: “My father did not have much so I had to sell and do all sorts of petty jobs to support us" adding, it is how her father trained her and the experiences in life that made her strong and hardworking; traits that have helped her excel in her chosen line of work.

Gifty Anti attended the Tema community 8 “Number 1” Basic School from where she gained admission to the Mfantsiman Girls High School in Saltpond in the Central Region, after sitting for the Common Entrance Exams when she was in Form Two.

Gifty said she was later encouraged by her brother to go to the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) after she was denied admission into the Kwame Nkrumah University of Technology (KNUST).

Interestingly, the first job she got at GTV was not as a presenter but as a Floor Manager and by dint of hard work, climbed up the ladder to become one of Ghana's leading broadcasters as well as a role model to young girls.

Currently, Gifty hosts The Standpoint, a programme which looks at issues affecting mainly, women. In just about two years on air, the programme has brought out challenges women face that had not been broached in the past and has opened doors for women to express themselves.

But she says it has not been all smooth stressing she has been battling issues of gender while her unmarried status is sometimes used against her.

“I get reports [that] some husbands prevent their wives from watching my show because according to them I am not married and do not have a child so how can they learn from someone like me.

She also revealed that sometimes companies and individuals refuse to sponsor her show because "they feel I discuss only gender (women) related topics which is not the case. It gets difficult a lot of the times, but I am not discouraged.” she said.

In spite of all the odds, Gifty is happy that the programme has helped and touched the lives of so many women and homes, which attests to the fact that the show is good and that she is

encourage that people now recognize her as “Gifty of Standpoint” instead of just GTV.

Story by Maame Esi Nyamekye Thompson/Adom FM