I first met you when I worked with the then KCC. I was in the Town Class Department, and you were in the Valuation Department. We got to know each other from 1963, but you later left the council. I met you again at KNUST, and our friendship grew stronger when we started worshipping together at the KNUSTCatholic Church. You became a Catholic by marriage and have ever since been committed to serving on various committees. “Auntie Monica has become more Catholic than the Pope!” I always smile when I think about how you claim to be the Vice President of our choir and a queen, insisting everyone calls youNana. The young and the old at the church bow to you anytime they see you, and it always makes me laugh. You have been a mother to so many people, both at the chaplaincy and all over the world. I am especially grateful for how you took one of my granddaughters as your own. My granddaughter even said, “Mepe wo asem paa nso Maame aba,” and we still laugh about it today. You are very caring, committed, and dedicated, and I thank you for all that you have done. Yaa Yaa, as you turn 80, I ask for good health, peace, joy, and love in your life. Josephine Awuah Monica, I met you in 1964 when I returned fromLondon to assume my post as lecturer at KNUST. You had then just finished secondary school. I affectionately called you Monique. Your older sister, Mrs. Mensah-Bonsu, was a Nursing Sister at the KNUSTHospital. Your brotherin-law, FrankMensah-Bonsu, was my friend. You later married YawAsante, a colleague and friend. You worshipped together with my late wife, Bertha, at the Anglican Church, and you became close friends. The two of you belonged to a group of ladies in the church, notoriously labelled the “AnglicanMafia.” You were a very loyal friend to Bertha, and in any gathering from which Bertha was absent, you would not allowme to so much as smile at any member of the fair sex whom you suspected might lead me into temptation. Monica, on this occasion of your turning 80, I welcome you to the club of octogenarians and pray to the Almighty that you continue to grow gracefully and in good health. Egya Amonoo-Neizer The Birthday Journal 33
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