My Mum on KUHIS Day

Today is the 29th of January, a day set aside by my 2001 year group of Kumasi High School mates as KUHIS Day. It was established to commemorate our journey to Toronto Desert as we call our Alma mater. It started last year and on this day, every alumni is supposed to wear something KUHIS on this day. All old boys are known as Mmrantiɛ (It means Gentlemen in the local Twi language). So as an Abrantiɛ on this day, I dedicate my KUHIS Day to the memory of my late mum, Kate Afia Amoakoah Ameh.

On January 29th 1999, my mum and my sister brought me to Kumasi High School to start senior secondary education. My admission to Kumasi High School was by luck even though it was my first choice school. Let me explain this. Back in the junior secondary school, students are made to choose three senior secondary schools they wish to attend in order of preference. After passing the Basic Education Certificate Exams (BECE), the schools write to you offering admission.  Most students don’t get their first choice schools because other students would have performed better.

As it turned out, I didn't perform well much to my surprise. I had aggregate 15. The best aggregate or grade should be aggregate 6 or better. Don’t get this twisted; I was one of the best students in junior secondary school. In 1996, I was adjudged the best student at the junior secondary level in the whole of the Hohoe District. The school had faith in ten of us to do better in the BECE; the best performer had aggregate 14. My school’s performance was just bad in 1998. We still don’t understand.

Kumasi High School had topped the senior secondary school exams in the whole of Ashanti Region in 1998 and so most JSS students had chosen Kumasi High School as their first choice school. My mum had just moved on transfer to teach in the Ashanti Region after more than twenty-three years of teaching in the Volta Region that was the reason why I had to choose a school in the Ashanti Region. As a very good student, I had to choose the best and it was Kumasi High School. But with these grades, there was no way I was going to get to the Toronto Desert.

My mum had just started teaching at Tetrem Secondary School in the Ashanti Region. Luckily for her, the assistant headmaster who was a very good friend of my mum was an Abrantiɛ. Not only was he an Abrantiɛ but an influential one. The long and short of this is that, with my grades, I got admission to Kumasi High School, thanks to my mum’s friend. He was Richard.

So on that fateful 29^th January, my mum, my sister Gertie and I set off for the first day of three years of excitement I will never regret. I used an old trunk my mum used back in her days at training college. Gertie had also gained to Asanteman Secondary School on transfer from the Volta Region. My dad was not working and was on a meager retirement benefit. So the burden was on my mum. My mum’s priority was the school fees and so I didn’t get the luxury of getting new items. The only new items were one pair of used black shoes, brown sandals, one black belt and one brown belt. My mum couldn’t afford white shirts and so my dad had to part with two white shirts. My mum couldn’t afford hiring a taxi so we had to pick a tro-tro from Dichemso to Roman Hill then to High School junction and then to the gates of High School. I had to carry my trunk on my head and sister also had to carry my chop box.

From l, standing Eugene, Collins, Fred, Kwame, Mawell, Akyena, Ice T,
Pobih, Fred, Slombo. From l, squating, Kwame N, Banahene, Totally
Pupulampu, Asantehene, my mates back in class, 2000.

Back in the days, immediately a new student arrived, there were seniors at the gate and they will shout “Ebi aba oooo!!!!!” meaning, “another one has arrived.” Immediately we arrived, one senior, Dennis Kusi whose nick name was KKD approached us and assured my mum of his help. KKD took us through all the formalities of registration. Luckily, I found myself in the same house as him- Osei Bonsu house also known as House 2. KKD made me feel very comfortable and to settle. He was very influential and used his influence to make sure that I didn’t provide a cutlass and hoe as was the requirement. We couldn’t afford to buy. I never took shito (specially made stew) to school until once in second year. KKD gave me to Daniel Agyekum as school father. Agyekum was a good school father but KKD was the god father. That was how come I settled in House 2.

Back in House 2, I was in room 14 with Kwabena Boateng, Otis Addai Dua, Prince Afriyie Boateng aka NBA, Obed Agyema, Kwaku Ahenkan and other second year guys like Barrow, Big Daddy Kay, the late Toxic and the rest. I later moved to the common room with Kwabena, Kwaku and went on to the prefects’ room with Kwabena in final year. Kwabena was my roommate from first year to final year.

Then dining hall prefect, Aryeetey handing over to me in 2000

In the classroom, I found myself in the General Arts class. Popularly known as Arts2, we were the rowdiest, loudest and most stubborn right from the first year to the final year. We had some of the brightest students. For the three years that we were in school the first five best students in English Language exams were students from my class and I was one of the students. Our only problem was mathematics and science. I’ll leave that for another day. We were very united and loved each other. We had mates like, Eugene Quarcoe, Kwabena Pobih, Totally, Kofi Sah, Maxwell Appiah, Friki Tal and other wonderful guys. We had cliques; there was Friki Tal and the boys, Sisqo and his boys. Eugene Quarcoe became the guy who gave most of the nick names. You rejected his given nick name at your own peril. Yes, such was the influence of Kabila, a nickname we gave him in class because of his big head. I later found myself in his clique with people like Kosovo, a name Kabila gave, Root prof, Kwame Sarfo, Maxwell Appiah and a few others. We have taken our friendship to another level and now we find ourselves more like brothers than friends.

It was hard paying my school fees and that of my sister. My mother therefore came to meet then headmaster, Samuel Mensah whose nickname was Gadhaffi(whose sons have also become my brothers). Mr. Mensah told my mum not to ever worry about my school fees again because he understood her plight. And so I was one of the few students who paid fees at his convenience. Till her death, she always praised and spoke good things about Mr. Mensah and indeed he was one of the people who gave my mum some respite in terms of finances.

I completed Kumasi High school without owing the school thanks to the arrangement between my mum and then headmaster. My mum encouraged me to stand for the position of dining hall prefect when I declared my intentions. She was everything for me during my days at the desert. She didn’t visit that frequently but always asked of my friends. It was therefore no surprise when she immediately became close to my friends and they took her as a mother till her death. She told me, she was happy I attended the school and completed in spite of all the problems. I also didn’t disgrace her, I did very well in the final exams, and I have very responsible friends she took as sons.

On this day, I celebrate my mum for making friends with her assistant headmaster who gave me admission. If my mum were to be very unfriendly and didn’t show respect to him, I wouldn’t have attended Kumasi High school. If she hadn’t taken that initiative to go and see the headmaster, I would have been the laughing stalk of the school. Till today, none of my friends knew this. I am who I am because of the training I got from Kumasi High school. I don’t regret attending this school and I thank my mum for sending me there. I celebrate her because she could have easily told me to attend her school.   

Rest in Peace mum, I will always remember the conversations we always had about my school. You were very interested in giving me the education I want. On KUHIS Day, I salute you. Thanks for making me an Abrantiɛ.