“Sika, there is a Josephine Nkrumah among the speakers, who is she?” I sharpen my mouth as usual as I begin to tell her about Josephine. “Josephine Nkrumah is a Ghanaian lawyer and currently serves as ECOWAS Ambassador to Liberia. She graduated from the University of Ghana, Legon, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Law and French. She was admitted to the Ghana Bar in February 1997. She also holds a Master of Laws (LLM) degree from the International Maritime Law Institute (IMO), Malta, specialising in maritime law. Josephine Nkrumah is passionate about democratising her country, Ghana, and the African continent at large. Prior to her appointment to ECOWAS, she was the deputy chair of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), which was promoted to chairperson by then-President John Dramani Mahama in 2016. Josephine Nkrumah founded the law firm Lumens Veritals Law before joining the NCCE in 2016 as the Deputy Chairperson in charge of Finance and Administration.” “I will tell you how I met her,” I say, as her curious eyes begin to open wide. Cool, calm, and collected, Josephine. I was invited by a friend to give a Zoom presentation to a women’s group, of which Josephine was a member. I spoke on “Breaking through Your Invisible Blocks.” When I was done, Josephine took my number from the hostess and called me days later, reminding me of the talk and asking to see me. We scheduled a time and met at Villa Montecillo at the Airport Residential Area. There, we had a long chat, after which Josie scheduled twelve sessions with me. Our first three sessions never lasted the hourly paid session; they lasted two to three hours! I was intentional about holding space for her to talk, dream, cry, laugh together, and create her own pathway. I admired her for her readiness and preparation. Each time she would come with her journal, where she had recorded her reflections after each session, shifts, actions to be taken, and plans and key points she wanted to process. By the end of the twelve sessions, she had catapulted to a different level of assertiveness, confidence, and boldness. She also had great clarity of purpose. Our relationship then took a different turn and grew to that of a sister friend. 35
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