The Journey of a Ghanaian Banker Who Committed Himself To Humanitarian Work After Growing Up On The Street
Noble Wisdom Dordoe grew up in very poor conditions and had to take on various petty jobs to afford staying in school and fending for himself.
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He moved to Accra in a quest to build a better future for himself but ended up experiencing extreme hardship. It took an opportunity a Managing director of a bank in Ghana offered him to turn his situation around completely.
Since then, Noble's life mission has been to offer the same helping hand he received some years back to others.
Source: UGC
Not everyone gets the chance to be born into a wealthy family and many times, it takes a lot for an individual from a poor family to rise above their shortcomings to build a place for themselves among the elite.
Noble Wisdom Dordoe, a young boy from a small town in the Northern Region who was raised by his grandmother had to work twice as much to get to where he currently is in life.
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Life was never easy for Noble and the struggle began when his sick mother had to leave him in the care of his granny.
Moving away from family to Wulensi at Nanumba for school
Source: UGC
Wisdom had his basic education at Kpandai Basic School and from there moved to a completely different district called Wulensi at Nanumba for his secondary education.
Leaving his family to a distant location for the first time was not easy, he admitted.
"Being posted to a new district without any family member around was extremely tough but I had no choice", Noble shared with YEN.com.gh.
The young man's only aim growing up was to build a better future for himself but he had no idea the difficult hurdles he would soon have to cross first.
"I can’t remember my dream as a child but I can remember my goal was to become a better person in future."
Struggling to keep afloat in secondary school due to low finances
Source: UGC
Sustaining himself in school was hard and he had to drop out on several occasions just to work and gather enough money to support himself through school.
"Life was extremely tough. I had to be absent from school several times within a term due to difficulty in sustaining myself. Food, books, school fees, and others requirements were difficult to meet. "
Wisdom took up various jobs such as working on farms and weeding for people at the nearby villages to earn and save up money.
Migrating from the Northern Region to Accra in search of greener pastures
Source: UGC
Staying in and out of secondary school definitely took a toll on Noble and the result of that was failing a number of his subjects in the Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE).
The only chance to living his dream life someday was to take the exams again but the money to do that was unavailable.
He made a bold decision to join his friends move from the village to the Greater Accra to work and gather money.
They joined a cargo truck and off they left for the big city. Life upon arrival was very difficult but Noble was willing to do all it takes.
There was no other place to stay than at Agbogbloshie and that was where the hustle began.
"Life in Agbogbloshie was tough. We slept in front of people's shops and the only work we could find was truck pushing. We did that for a year and a half", Wisdom revealed to YEN.com.gh
The hustle they found themselves in was hard and they struggled to meet the daily target hence the owner took back his truck. That however did not discourage them. They just moved to the next available hustle.
"We worked as yoghurt sellers for a while and after that I took up a job as a security man at a bank."
Passing the SSCE and gaining admission at the Methodist University College
Source: UGC
Working as a security man afforded him an opportunity to not just work to feed himself to save towards registering to re-write the SSCE.
"I wrote my failed papers again and successfully passed with flying colours"
With a certificate in hand, he got a better offer when the managing director of the bank he was working as a security guard at offered him a position there.
"As a guard, I was in-charge of the MD's office receiption. One day, he asked me why I chose to be a security guard and I opened up about my story to him. Right after that, he recommended me to the Human Resource Manager of the bank and I was picked as a messenger."
For the first time in his life, Wisdom received a huge bump in salary and this time, it meant he could afford to save towards purchasing a university form.
"Thankfully, I was able to put enough money aside, applied to Methodist Universuity College and successfully gained admission"
Struggles at Methodist University College
Wisdom was finally at the university but sustaining himself there was once again very difficult. He found himself reliving his past all over again.
Source: UGC
"Life at the university was not easy. I was always unable to pay my fees and got kicked out of the exam hall on several occasions anytime the account team went around to check those who hadn't finished paying their fees.
I always wrote to the school concerning my challenges and appealed for time to pay to no avail."
He also failed many courses due to lack of funds to buy books and learning materials and had to wait after school to rewrite other papers in order to graduate.
Thankfully, he landed a job in the banking sector after school.
The emergence of Noble Wisdom Dordoe's desire for humanitarian works
Source: UGC
A single act of kindness the MD he used to work with showed him ignited a burning desire to also offer a helping hand to people who need it.
"Humanitarian work came to mind when the MD of the bank gave me the opportunity to become the messenger. That chance he gave me made a great impact in my life. Since then, my dream was to support others in the society and use my story and life experiences to empower others", Wisdom told YEN.com.gh.
Noble's first humanitarian act was feeding homeless children around his area of residence and gradually, he was able to enroll them in school.
"Getting the opportunity to help others was really nice and I couldn’t hold back my tears when people started calling me their helper"
How Noble's humanitarian acts are funded
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Source: UGC
The selfless Ghanaian man relies on his own salary and support from individuals to make a difference in the lives of people.
"40% of my salary goes to the foundation and I get support from some kind people who believe in the cause.
I also do a lot of story telling and appealing to people for support and partner with other organizations for bigger impacts."
Some of the help Noble Wisdom Dordoe has provided has been listed below;
- Provided educational scholarships for 750 less privileged orphans who do not get the chance to be in school and children who have dropped out of school due to poverty
- Saved 280 lives from prison and integrated some in community by providing petty business and vocational skills for them
- Impacted 10,000 less privileged with Empower Them Young Mentorship program
- Impacted over 10,000 less privileged with free health screening, food, clothes and others
- Organized menstrual health education nationwide which impacted over 5,000 young girls and supported them with sanitary pads
- Provided free skills training for 1000 young girls and boys who dropped out of school
- Provided free accommodation for 60 homeless Kayayes and breastfeeding mothers and provided medical care for them
- Provided training and supported 2000 pregnant and breastfeeding women on child abuse and domestic violence and has supported them with bedsheets and towels.
Through his kind works, Wisdom has received over 15 awards.
For Wisdom, he finds great fulfillment in helping to meet the needs of others in the society and plans to continue doing good as long as it takes. He is therefore calling on as many people who can help change lives in any shape or form to come onboard.
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