Interview: He waited for 17 years to get into Adisadel College, 32-year-old student shares his story

Well I’m Richard Opanin Marfo. 32 years old. I’m in a family of five (5) and the oldest among my siblings Mavis and Kofi. Mr. and Mrs. Marfo are my parents. Effiduase in the Ashanti region is my hometown. I have lived in Adum and Kronum Kwapra in Kumasi all my life.

I completed Maria Montessori School at Kumasi in 2004 with aggregate 10. Afterwards my dream was to be in Adisadel College to further my education but I never had the chance. So I was convinced by my dad to be in Sammo Senior High and completed in 2007.
Right after completion of my secondary education. I got to the hustling field to run myself in all kinds of footwear in the streets of Adum and Moro market in kumasi.

Three years later on in 2010, l couldn’t stand the desire of not fulfilling my dream school. I marshaled courage and got myself enrolled in Modern Educational Centre (MEC) at Abuakwa Sepaase in kumasi to rewrite BECE and came out with flying colors. Despite having aggregate 6, l was still denied to be enrolled in Adisco and i said to my self “no Santa no school in Ghana”

I kept on with my sneaker business not only in Adum but also supplied goods to customers at Accra, Sunyani, Mankessim, Cape Coast and Takoradi after expanding my importation from Togo and Nigeria to Ghana.

“No Santa No school” became my adage and got me to strive again. I wrote my third BECE at (MEC) in 2011 with grade 12 but was still denied an admission for the third attempt. I was then placed in Ekumfi TI Ahmadiyya to offer General Science. It wasn’t easy at all but I went there on a promise by the then Headmaster of Adisadel College Mr. Graham that I would be admitted to my dream College on a transfer basis in form 2. “Why should I be enrolled as a transfer student to ADISCO? ” These words kept eating me up and made me forget the promise. Due to this I went to E-AMASS for only a term and left all my belongings there.

In 2013 and 2014, i set up my banker to banker lotto business at Adum and “koko” business in kronum kwapra but still had the intention of schooling again.
Very stubborn with my goals of fulfilling my innermost happiness, l paid deaf ears to many opportunities to various tertiary institutions all in the name of this Adisadel College.

In 2015, when I was 26 years old, I still cried inwardly to make my wish happen. Never giving up, I sat and wrote my fourth BECE as a private candidate at WAEC in kumasi. Shockingly , I had aggregate 13 and was placed at Sammo again. This time around, I did not follow up and kept on with my business.

Five (5) years later, I sat for another private BECE in 2020 when I was 31 years old. While awaiting for my results and placement after completion, I joined Mr Godfred Opanin Marfo, my dad, in the bush and followed his footsteps to learn farming in a hard way during the lockdown at Nsuta off Bechem Road in the Ashanti region. I was then trained in cash crop farming. How to cultivate vegetables like cucumber, cabbage, pepper, okro, garden-eggs and ginger. A year later in 2021, finally! finally! God answered my prayers and gave me my long awaited childhood dream school Adisadel College to study Computer Science on the 1st March,2021 at the age of 32. And that has been the happiest day in my life ever since i was born.