Introduction: The Foundation Forged In Fire.
My name is Desmond Elorm Kwabena Menson (Destiny/Catena). My story begins not in a lecture hall but in the crucible of life’s hardest lessons. I am the firstborn of a combined family of 14 children from both paternal and maternal sides. The title of “Big Brother” was not just a name; it was a mantle of immense responsibility that I would have to shoulder far too soon.
This weight became a crushing reality with the devastating loss of my dad. His passing left a void that transformed my role from that of a son into a pillar for my siblings. My education became a battle fought on multiple fronts. Determined to succeed, I sat for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) four separate times in 2011, 2012, 2018, and 2019. Each attempt was a story of struggle, a demonstration of sturdiness that was being forged in the fire of adversity.
Yet, the greatest test of my will came on August 18, 2017. A fatal motorbike accident left me broken on the roadside, my life hanging by a thread. In that moment, every dream of education, of providing for my family, of a future flickered and nearly went out. But by God’s grace, I survived. The scars I carried away from that road were not just physical; they were a permanent reminder that my life had been spared for a purpose. This was the foundation upon which my journey was built: a foundation of loss, responsibility, failure, survival, and an unyielding faith that refused to be extinguished.
Chapter 1: The Fallen Seminarian.
Ever since I was a boy, I dreamed of wearing the priestly robes, standing at the altar, and serving God with my whole heart. I entered the seminary with fire in my soul, but after years of struggle, the doors closed on me. You lack the necessary support, they said. The priesthood is not for everyone.
I was shattered. But deep down, a quiet voice whispered: There is another way.
On January 11, 2021, I stepped into St. Francis College of Education, Hohoe, not as a seminarian, but as a man determined to rewrite his destiny.
Chapter 2: The Hustle Begins: No Money, Only Faith.
Admission was just the beginning. The real battle? Survival.
With no savings and no one to turn to, I relied on my skills, electrician by day, farmer by dawn. I fixed broken wiring in homes and shops, sometimes working late into the night just to earn enough for a meal and save for fees. Before the sun rose, I was on my small farm, tilling the land, planting maize, cassava, and ginger not just for food but to sell for extra income. Some days, I missed lectures because a client needed urgent electrical repairs. I would rush back to campus, dusty and exhausted, just to borrow notes from friends.
Chapter 3: The Voices Along the Way
Not everyone understood my journey. Some saw a young man wasting his prime years chasing papers instead of money. “Education won’t feed you,” they would say, watching me rush to campus with my worn-out backpack. “Look at his mates building houses and starting families while he’s still playing student.” Their laughter followed me to the lecture halls, their doubts clinging like the dust from my farm work.
But there were others, quiet believers who saw what I couldn’t always see in myself. The ones who slipped extra coins into my palm when I fixed their lights, who saved food for me knowing I’d come straight from the fields to class, who whispered “keep going” when the road seemed too long. Their small acts of faith kept me moving forward when the world said stop.
In the end, the mockers taught me perseverance, while the believers taught me the power of grace. Both were necessary. One fueled my determination, and the other restored my spirit. And when graduation day came, even the doubters had to admit: the boy they said was wasting his time had somehow built a future.
Chapter 4: The Church, My Only Comfort.
Even in my struggles, I never abandoned my Catholic faith. I kept serving in the altar, organizing altar servers programs, teaching catechism to children when I barely had time for myself.
People admired my dedication, but no one knew the pain behind my smile.
I still longed for the priesthood, but God had a different plan.
Chapter 5: The Final Push Graduation Against All Odds.
By October 10, 2024, I was exhausted, but I had completed my studies.
Then, on August 15, 2025, I stood tall in my graduation gown. My hands, rough from years of farming and electrical work, trembled as I held a first degree (Second Class Upper Division)
I didn’t just earn a certificate, I proved that hard work and faith can move mountains.
Epilogue: A Teacher, An Electrician, A Farmer. A Beacon of Hope
Today, I am not a priest, but I am a teacher, an electrician, and a farmer.
I use my electrical skills to fix up schools, communities, and churches.
My farm now helps feed leaners I see in almost my situation, just as I once struggled to feed myself. Most importantly, I still serve my church with the same fire I had in the seminary.
My journey was never easy, but it was worth every calloused hand, every sleepless night, and every silent prayer in the dark.
And that is my victory.
Final Thought: God doesn’t always call us to the path we expect, but He always equips us for the journey ahead.
By: Desmond Elorm Kwabena Menson.
