If education, and for that matter, life, is to be a race, Vedze Gershon, a 26 year old man who is also a student of Fievie Junior High School in the South Tongu District of the Volta Region, could have been termed as the “last man standing;” but the man who seems to have an unfinished business, educationally, says that’s not the case; with the vision in sight, nothing should stop one from aiming high. Not even age, which is but a number.
In sharing what can be termed as a pathetic story Mr. Vedze Gershon revealed that, he started schooling at an early age, but when he reached Basic Five (5), his biological father sent him to the village of Mafi-Agotokor in the Volta region to rear cattle for five years.
Five years later, his tour of duty done, Vedze Gershon insisted on going back to school, but his father once again denied him the opportunity and sent him to Yeji, a community widely and largely known for as being the hub for trafficking in children and issues of child labour.
At Yeji, he stayed with an unknown man with whom he went fishing with for a period of one year, six months before coming back home. Upon returning, he enrolled as a student with one community school in Tefle, a town in the South Tongu District of the Volta Region. His days with this community school were again shortened, largely, because he couldn’t raise sufficient funds and the distance was burdensome. Thereafter, he transferred to his present school.
He attested that, the whole process has not been without hiccups. “Sometimes, the feeling that you are in class with people who can be termed as your younger brothers and sisters nearly sent me out of school, but determination has carried me this far.” Aside his emotions, funding his education continues to be a major challenge. “Nobody helps, not even my father,” he admitted soberly.
Vedze like any other person or student has an aspiration; one of his dreams is to become an elder in his local church, a process he had already set in motion, because he is a deacon in his church. Another is to become a tailor.
Authors Note: If you desire to assist Vedze Gershon contact me: dzidulajunior@yahoo.com/ dzidulajunior@gmail.com
