I stared at the computer in disbelief. Was it true? Had our NGO just been invited to attend a conference at the University of Ghana? It was an amazing opportunity, and I couldn’t afford to let it slip through my fingers. While working with Razak at his uncle’s shop, I had the idea of launching an NGO to address child trafficking, a prevalent issue in Bawku. I remember Razak looking at me with surprise and saying, “Okay. I don’t knowmuch about NGOs, but if you know what you’re doing, then that’s fine.” I started by searching online for conferences on child or human trafficking and registered for as many as I could. The problem was that our NGO was not officially registered, and we were relatively unknown. However, I had set an ambitious task for myself. Imagine my surprise and joy when we were invited to a World Bank-funded conference on the subject in Accra. This was a golden opportunity, and I couldn’t let it slip away. At the conference, I was anything but a passive participant. I made substantial contributions to all the workshops, presenting the problem as it related to Bawku, which was experiencing a crisis at that time. I had conducted extensive research and investigations on the issue before attending the conference, It’s not just the wins that make us who we are; it’s our resilience in the face of adversity that truly shapes us into forces of nature. so I had my facts and figures at my fingertips. Unbeknownst to me, I had caught the attention of an important person from theWorld Bank. This individual approached me during lunch and asked me to share everything I knew about the situation in Bawku, concluding by giving me his business card. Interestingly, I didn’t even bother to glance at the business card, and he requested my contact number, to which I provided my mother’s number. I didn’t have a phone at the time as I had sold my phone to make ends meet. Ironic, considering I had earned the nickname O-244 and had made a significant amount of money selling phones. I was fed up with the hustle in Accra, and I was feeling fired up and eager to return to my small project in Bawku. “ Moses with Razak and Camillo, secondary school mates 24 The Birthday Journal
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