The teacher who awaken my self-belief with a coin. A tribute to Mr. Ziddah Robert Kwabla
Fare thee well Mr. Ziddah Robert Kwabla. You have moulded many lives. Including mine.
Many lives have passed through your hand. But I could only remember mine.
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I never saw your youthful years as a classroom teacher. I only witnessed you as a non-teaching headteacher of our L/A JSS.
However, you end up contributing to my self-belief that I am special. Despite our less interaction in the classroom as one of your newest students.
In our first year, I ended up believing I could be an arrowhead on an ancient battle field.
Believing I could possess that idea that could be different from everyone’s, but that could be the best option.
An idea that nobody thought about even at the highest level, you, Mr. Ziddah very well said.
It was the day a team of experts gathered teachers and students from multiple circuits for a sensitization or education on a national policy that was being implemented. They were going round from district to district to do the sensitization or education.
Our school, which is located in the central point of town and central among a cluster of circuits, hosted the event.
It was a question and answer time. After teachers finished asking their questions and making their contributions, it was as though the best students from all schools were promised an award to ask questions left, right and center.
As usual for enthusiastic students, most of the questions were repetitive and others were already answered during the presentation.
I was not among the top five (5) students of my class in the first year of JSS, now JHS.
However, the question in my head will not let me be.
I raised my hand, asked my question and everyone started clapping, including the visiting team.
The team confessed they did not come across that question even at the level of discussion among the various teams.
Before the closing prayer was said, Mr. Ziddah halted the process and gave me a coin that could feed me a whole day at school. The coin was the largest coin denomination at the time.
The value of that coin was valueless. The coin imposed an internal expectation on me to always find the idea, mindset or whatever that nobody was thinking about.
This singular act, this imposition of self-belief as a special one, may be worth, probably, more than anything I could need after completing school.
My first appointment
My first appointment was fast tracked, after an initial three (3) temporal replacement contract, after using a day to bring a suggestion that saved the institution over $100,000. Our boss had informed us that management, including foreign donor partners, were looking for a solution for over three months. As a first class, foreign-like institution, they decided to seek the idea of lower level staff.
The ultimate
People who know you, Mr. Ziddah Robert Kwabla, will definitely remember the number of lives, both as your students and non-students, you have helped to shape.
Rest in Perfect Peace, Mr. Ziddah Robert Kwabla
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