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| Charles is a twenty-six years old boy who joined SOS Children’s Village Asiakwa in 1994 |
June 23, 2011: Twenty-six-year-old Charles is in his last year of medical school at the University of Ghana in Accra, that nation’s capital. But any education, let alone medical school, was hardly a given for Charles, who was orphaned at eight.
Charles (not his real name) and his two brothers became parentless when their father died in 1993. Living in Tema, the three children were left to their own devices. With no money for food, Charles, the most enterprising of the three, started a small business with his big brother before and after school. Eventually he was thrown out of school because he could no longer afford the fees. He and his brothers lived hand-to-mouth for a year before being admitted to SOS Children's Village at Asiakwa, 60 miles northeast of Accra.
A New Life at SOS-Asiakwa
Charles and his brothers experienced previously unknown things at SOS-Asiakwa -- the freedom to play and the love of an SOS mother. Charles’ own mother died before he knew her.
“I was stunned by how welcomed we were at the SOS family house,” says Charles, recalling his first day in the village. “One of the older boys took me where they kept the toys and we started playing. It was the first time I’d ever had toys I could play with whenever I wanted.”
SOS Mother Elizabeth remembers the same day. “The three siblings weren't sure where they were; they looked lost. I just made them aware they were safe.”
The Importance of Education
From SOS Mother Elizabeth, Charles says he learned why studying was important. He learned about doing things well and living a life of integrity. His dream was to excel for her. Charles lived at SOS-Asiakwa until entering the SOS Hermann Gmeiner International College in Tema.
At college he discovered a love for biology and “the complexity of living things.” That’s when he began seeing himself as a doctor. He entered medical school in Accra in 2005.
The curriculum has been challenging but Charles is diligent and persistent. In 2010 he had the opportunity to travel to Germany as part of a medical school exchange.
After his final exams in 2012, Charles will do a two-year internship before obtaining his medical license. That day, says Elizabeth, proudly, “I will praise the Lord. I can't express this feeling now. I am just waiting for this day in my prayers.”
As for Charles’s dream, beyond being a doctor? He looks forward to having a family and being able to take care of it.
“I don't know where I would have ended up without SOS Children's Villages,” says Charles.
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