MTN Heroes Of Change Season 5: Meet 56-Year-Old Physically Challenged Teacher

Her story depicts one of courage and exudes empathy and support for people living with various disabilities like herself. Knowing how difficult it is to live with physical challenges, she has devoted her energy, time and resources primarily to giving hope and a future to many people.

Meet Louisa Enyonam Ansah, a 56-year-old teacher, who is physical challenge and runs a foundation –Enyonam Short Foundation. She is one of the 10 nominees of the MTN Heroes of Change Season 5 who are unimaginably changing lives in extraordinary ways.

Posted to the Roman Catholic Kindergarten in Adoagyiri, Nsawam, Louisa for the past 20years has given hope to many children with same condition but from poor homes who could not enrol their wards in special schools. Louisa, a giver of life enrolled some physically challenged children into her self-funded Enyonam Short Foundation to have access to quality education.

According to her, although life has not been easy, people must not be denied access to quality and better education because of their strange condition.

Narrating her story, Louisa said, “When I got here, (Nsawam-Otoase) I told myself that I need a land to build a school with the aim that people with disabilities will one day attend and feel at home. And because I went through difficult times in school which was not easy for me, I decided to do the extraordinary thing by setting a home where physically challenged children like my kind will find it a little bit easy to access school and get to achieve their dreams because people of our kind also have bigger dream just like anybody in society.”

Realising that most schools and institutions aren't disability friendly, Madam Louisa says despite the little salary she earns monthly, she is determined and hopeful to help the community she lives in. Housing an impressive number of children in her foundation, the physically challenged teacher says her dream is to build a school that will offer tuition from Crèche to Junior High for persons living with disabilities.

Aside her dream of having a school, Madam Enyonam through her selfless effort, has fought tooth and nail to ensure that residents of Nsawam-Otoase have access to quality, safe and good drinking water.

“Even though I haven’t achieved much for myself as I would have wished, I have the burning desire to extend love and hope to people just like me. Our journey is a tough one and I will continue to do the very little I can to put smiles on the faces of the physically challenged with my meagre finances. This gives me hope that the future will be bright,” she concluded.

The other nine nominees are Diana Adjei, Rev Fr. Akologo Dominic Alale Azumah, Justin Yelevielbayire, Mawusi Awity, Charles Ofori Antipem, Daniel Owusu Asiamah, Frank Abeku Adams, Benjamin Akinkang and David Hagan. Their projects which range from health, education and economic empowerment have benefited members of their communities over the years.

Corporate Services Executive of MTN, Mr Samuel Koranteng disclosed that although they (Jury) received thousands of nominations, they managed to unearth inspiring stories of the 10 finalists who made it to this year's MTN Heroes of Change Season 5.

Since the inception of MTN Heroes of Change in July 2013, a total of 40 people have been identified and recognized on MTN Heroes of Change platform for committing their personal resources to improve their communities and brightening lives.