Monica_Magazine

The managers of De Simone Construction Company watched in awe as I delivered a brilliant presentation, showing them what our company had to offer, what they stood to benefit if they awarded us their contract, and why we were the best choice among the bidders. At that time, there were only a few women in civil engineering, so I think they were mesmerised by how a female engineer explained all the technical concepts, especially in a male-dominated profession. Unsurprisingly, we won the contract. I believe they were fascinated to see a practising and brilliant female civil engineer at work in Ghana at that time. I left the business concept and ideas with my colleagues when my husband decided that we should migrate. One of my colleagues continued the company and expanded it. He’s still involved in road contracts and has added building projects to his portfolio. Canada Bound One morning, Ernest held me close before I left for work and whispered, “Let’s go to Canada.” Wow. It wasn’t coming out of the blue, though. I was aware that things were deteriorating at his workplace, and his sister, who lived in Canada, had been encouraging us to join them there. My business was taking off successfully, but it didn’t sound like a bad idea. We could further our education, which would equip us for better opportunities when we returned to Ghana. “Why not?” I replied. Ernest went back to being a Production Manager for one of the steel firms, Wahome, when he returned from Germany. Unfortunately, that company collapsed. He then got another position as a Production Manager. Given the situation in the industry in Ghana at the time, we decided to move to Canada after we were granted permanent residency. The plan was to do our master’s and PhDs and return to Ghana to teach. However, when we arrived in Canada, life changed. After our master’s programme, we were offered good jobs and also thought it was a great opportunity for our children to get an excellent education. Thus, we decided to stay. When we first arrived, we lived with my sister-in-law in Calgary for a couple of weeks. We came right after 9/11, during a recession. Some friends who already lived here suggested that we use this opportunity to start our respectivemaster’s programmes, so we began looking for schools. While waiting for an offer of admission, I got a job at a supply chain company where I worked with computers to tag items for Walmart. It was a goodway to save for school and pay our bills at the same time without dipping too much into the funds we brought with us to Canada. A few months into the job, where I was performing brilliantly, I was admitted to a master’s programme, and in my excitement, I informed one of my coworkers. “Hello,” the voice said from the other end of the line. The number was my agency’s, but the speaker sounded cold and distant. After the greetings, the agent stated that my assignment had ended. I was shocked and asked, “Oh, why?” She replied, “Is it true you’re going to school?” I said, “Yes, but I haven’t told you yet.” She continued, “Well, we were informed, so the assignment has ended. You’re a very good worker, but sorry, it’s over.” It was quite a shock. It turned out to be a mistake to inform my co-worker about my plans. She informed management that I was planning to leave for school in two weeks, leading to my layoff from that job two weeks earlier than planned. That experience was a valuable lesson to me: Do not assume everyone is happy for you when you share your good news, and it’s always important to be cautious about what and whom you share with. Opening up the mail, I saw it was an admission letter for Ernest to theUniversity of Waterloo. What exciting news! I had already secured my placement at Western, which was just about an hour and a half away from Waterloo. In our excitement, we quickly packed a few things, and that was how we left Calgary and moved to Ontario. There was tremendous support from the Ghanaian community in Ontario, reminiscent of Holy Child School. We encountered Ghanaian professors and students who guided us through practical matters like getting a credit card and finding a doctor. We even formed a prayer group that lasted for years, and we continue to stay connected through social media. 22 The Birthday Journal

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