Dear Joojo, It was such a joy when we found out we were having you. We were pregnant at the time of our wedding. The joy and pride your father felt, especially when he found out your gender. You were born on a bright sunny Monday afternoon in February 1973. A Kojo already, just like your dad. I chose to call you Joojo - the special Fanti name for Kojo, just because you are so special. Your real given name at your Ga outdooring/naming ceremony “Kpodziemo” is Nii Ewusie. You were named after your grandfather who was a chief in Oshiye, a town in the Greater Accra Region. Being named after your grandfather, the royal, I chose to call you Nii Mantse - The Honorable Chief!!! Your dad’s only sister would call you “Aunty Jo Papa.” You were precious to all of us. At the time you were born, we lived at Ridge, where you were the only baby in the family, adored by all your cousins and especially by your Aunty Jo. I had lots of help taking care of you - cousins, Aunty, and Grandma “Ol’ Cecilia”- your dad’s mom. We left Ghana in 1975 to go to Liberia upon your dad’s mom Ellen secondment to Liberia Broadcasting Corporation from Ghana Broadcasting Corporation where he was a Broadcast Engineer. You were barely two years old. You practically grew up in Liberia, starting Nursery School at Hilton-Van E. You loved school and your friends. Your teachers doted on you because you were a good student, topping your class consistently and winning all the awards, which you continued all through your schooling in Liberia. You loved reading and got excited when on Saturdays after your chores you got to go and buy “Hardy Boys” books and more comic books. Drawing was another 24 The Birthday Journal
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