Linda

I had it all — two loving parents, a younger brother, two newborn baby sisters, a father with a good job who provided stability, and a mother who gave all her children loving care. Overnight, life as I knew it was taken away from me.

A neighbor who was jealous of my family, especially the success of my father’s farm, attended the naming ceremony for my baby sisters and poisoned my mother, father, and both of my sisters. They all died.

I lost my family, the property, and my ability to stay in school to finish my education. My dream of becoming a nurse vanished. The only thing I could think of was survival for myself and my little brother. I dropped out of high school to take odd jobs to earn money.

One day, a woman came to my village to conduct research. I learned she was from America and her name was Jennifer.  Through a translator, I told Jennifer my story. She listened to me and I could see she felt compassion for what my brother and I had suffered. Jennifer said she would come back to help me on her next trip to Ghana.

My brother and I struggled for survival. We tried to stay with family members, but no one wanted the burden of two children. We were treated as less than animals. I knew we couldn’t stay in the village, so we decided to move to the city to see if I could find work there. We went to Accra.

A few years later, a man approached me and told me he was sent by Jennifer. He was an investigator who had been searching for me on her behalf. By the time I was found, I already had a son and was eight months pregnant with my daughter. I was living in an open shack on the roadside with my boyfriend and child. Life was very hard and we were desperate.

Jennifer’s organization, which I learned was called Dream On, moved my family to a safe place — a room with walls, windows, screens, and a door with a lock. We had a safe, dry place to rest our heads at night. After I delivered my daughter, I talked with Jennifer and she asked me how she could help me gain a skill so I could take care of my children. I told her that I would like to train to become a hairdresser.

Through the generosity of all the people who donated to Dream On, I trained for two years to become a hairdresser.  I worked for another year at a salon and then Jennifer and I talked about my dream of owning my own shop. She raised the money and helped make my dream come true.

Jennifer had once told me of these flowers called dandelions. She said many people thought of them as annoying weeds, but she loved how resilient dandelions were because they could even grow in between cement. She told me that I was resilient as well — that no matter how life tried to beat me down, I stood right back up and fought to live for myself, my brother, and my children.  I decided that I would call my salon Dandelion ‘Do.