By Betsy Ramser Jaime
While a disability might be enough to discourage some young adults from pursuing their dreams, that’s not at all the case for Hagan Golo. He shares, ‘I am 39 years old and the last among eight siblings. I was born in Dambai a farming and fishing community along the Volta lake. At age six I suffered a polio attack and therefore had been with disability on one leg till today. Even with my disability and being the last with my aged parent, I supported my parents in farming and fishing.’
Hagan is nothing short of an inspiration as he often trekked long distances with the use of crutches in order to receive an education. He continues, ‘Against all the odds I was able to complete my basic education and passed Basic Education certificate Exams successfully. Since most secondary schools within the area lack facilities for kids with disability, I stayed home for two years without going to Secondary or Technical School. The fear for my parent was that I can’t cope with secondary school alone in the boarding house where washrooms, classrooms etc. were not disability friendly.’
After being at home for two years, he then successfully entered a technical and vocational school to gain additional skills. With an impressive performance in his classes and on his exams, he then was accepted to Ghana Technology University to study Telecommunication Engineering.
For Hagan, joining the Zidisha community has been an excellent opportunity to continue his studies and pay his school fees, as he hopes to finish his Bachelor’s degree, a Master’s degree, and possibly even a PhD.
In his own words, ‘With this assistance from Zidisha, finances are no more headaches to me any longer and I can get more concentration on academic work with practice on problem solving engineering practicals that can add more value to myself. I believe strongly that with my creativity, innovations and skills, I can use my engineering background to liberate my community from the shackles of poverty, and then make a meaningful living for my people for the years to come. I have a strong conviction that by the time I complete my study at the university; I will come out with some work using Science, Technology and Innovation for Poverty Reduction in my community and beyond.’
In the future, Hagan envisions being able to help other schools in expanding their science and engineering courses in rural communities where these subjects are often overlooked.
In his time with Zidisha, since the beginning of 2018, Hagan has raised 8 Zidisha funded loans ranging in size from $113 to $486. These loans, from Zidisha lenders all over the world, have enabled Hagan to pay his school fees, support his housing costs, and purchase course materials, books, and school supplies such as, pens, pencils, drawing papers, and photocopies.
Recently, on Mar 27, 2020, Hagan wrote on his Zidisha discussion page to share his gratitude for his lenders and the Zidisha community at large. ‘Can’t imagine how my world would have been without Zidisha loans. Thank you to all my lenders for supporting my dream. You made me forget those difficult days when things were so bad for me financially. Thank you for your rescue, God richly bless you all. You made my study on campus good for me.’
Would you like to support the education of an inspiring student like Hagan? Make sure to head on over to our Browse Projects Page to read about Zidisha students and entrepreneurs around the world.
