Growing up on the farm, in the rural area, provides a unique life experience. You learn many life skills and lessons. It can be exciting but there are times that it can be challenging as well. “I didn't think much of these rural experiences at the time, but I have begun to appreciate them lately in my work and life. Anytime I step on the farm, I become like a child again”
I live in Kumasi, Ghana and I work with a social enterprise that serves the needs of smallholder farmers to turn them into successful entrepreneurs. I like the city for its greenery and moderate cost of living. Kumasi is a big city with about 1.17m inhabitants and I have lived here for almost 9 years. But this is not where I grew up. When I meet people and tell them that I grew up on a farm, in a rural area, they hardly believed me. This happened so much that I stopped talking about it. But recently, my conversations with some colleagues about my childhood made me realize that I had a lot to share about my experiences growing up on the farm. This is the reason why I went down memory lane and put together this piece as a way of sharing my experiences.
