Fire burnt down girl's lifetime savings, dashes education ambitions

The dream of a 20 year old school drop-out to return to the classroom hangs in the balance after she lost all her property, including cash, in a fire outbreak at Suame Magazine in Kumasi.

Jennifer Kolog had saved 1,100 Ghana cedis, in preparation for a journey back to Northern Ghana for second-cycle education.

Just a day before she had scheduled to begin the trip disaster struck on Wednesday.

The fire that occurred on Wednesday razed down all the structures in this slum at the Suame Magazine industrial hub where Jennifer and her one and half year old daughter.

Jennifer is one of the over four hundred squatters who lived here in this slum.

They had travelled from Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region in search of greener pastures south.

Now, they are compelled by circumstances to contend with this slum.

Jennifer who completed her Junior High School education in 2013 and got admission to Navrongo Senior High School to read general science abandoned school for lack of funds.

“My thinking was to become a nurse in future,” says Jennifer who has been shedding tears over her predicaments.

Jennifer lost her father immediately after she gained admission. Her elder brother who she hoped could support died subsequently.

“My mother is[was] also not there so I stayed with my step mother. She didn’t get money for me to go to school so that was why I came here (Kumasi) so that if God blessed I will go to school again”.

Several appeals to the District Chief Executive in Nangodi and the Member of Parliament for the area yielded no results.

Her plan to go back to school meant she had to start selling iced-water (sachet water) on the streets of Kumasi especially in the Suame Magazine since 2014 when she arrived in Kumasi.

“The money I saved was 1,100 Ghana Cedis, the day before yesterday I went to the bank to get the money with the intention that may be on Monday I will go back home to continue my education. But I went to sell water when I came back all the money is burnt”, emotional Jennifer explained.

Even in a slum, Jennifer co-habits with a man, not as a wife but just for shelter. She has a one- and- a –half- year old daughter who is breast feeding.

Her mission was to raise money to enable her return to school to keep her dream of becoming a nurse alive.

Homeless Jennifer is in no mood to back down on her dreams.

Her situation is one of many young girls who migrate to the south for a better life.

She together with her colleagues has nowhere to go until help comes to them.