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From Ghana抯 Streets To Medical School

Charles was a baby when his mother abandoned him and his two brothers. When their father died a few years later, the boys had to fend for themselves until SOS Children stepped in. As Charles, now 26, prepares to graduate from medical school, he takes a look back.

After their father died, the boys spent a year living hand to mouth in the city of Tema. Charles, then aged 8, and his older brother barely made enough money for food and often could not afford their school fees.

A new start in life

The turning point came when they were found by an SOS social worker and taken to the SOS Children’s Village Asiakwa, 60 miles from Ghana’s capital, Accra. Elizabeth, his SOS mother, said: "They looked completely lost. I just made them aware that they were safe and put a smile on their faces."

Charles gradually adapted to his new surroundings. "My childhood started when I came to the SOS Children’s Village and met my SOS mother," said Charles. "She always pushed me into studying. Before then, I was always last in class. After the first term here, I was the first!"

A love of learning

After four years at Asiakwa, Charles moved to the SOS Children International College in Tema. There he discovered a love for biology and ‘the complexity of living things.’ After immersing himself in his studies, in 2005 he earned a place at medical school in Accra.

The five-year course was challenging, but Charles was persistent, even when he had to retake his second year studies. There were also exciting times, including a school exchange to Germany. After sitting his final exam in late 2012, he will undertake a two-year internship before receiving his licence to practice as a doctor.

Future dreams

And how about his dreams beyond being a doctor? Charles looks forward to having a family that he can take care of. He keeps in touch with Elizabeth, his SOS mother, attributing much of his success to her love, support and encouragement to pursue his education. He concludes: "I don’t know where I would have ended up without SOS Children. The greatest gift I got was my SOS mother. I am so grateful."

As part of their ongoing support for SOS Children, the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation recently organised a lesson for local school children on life in Africa – making use of the ‘Our Africa’ educational resource developed by our charity. Spurs player Emmanuel Adebayor brought the lesson to life for pupils as he talked about his experiences growing up in Togo.

The session, for Year 6 pupils from St Paul’s and All Hallows school in Tottenham, aimed to educate children about daily life in Africa. Taking place at White Hart Lane stadium’s Learning Zone, the children were introduced to the award-winning 'Our Africa' website, which was developed by SOS Children to celebrate the charity’s 40th year of working in Africa.

The ambitious project sets out to let children across Africa film their lives and countries the way they see them. Their thoughts, opinions and ideas are captured in films available on a free-to-use website, giving children around the world a new perspective on Africa. Children featured are from SOS Children’s Villages and their local communities, where SOS Children run Family Strengthening Programmes to help vulnerable families to stay together.

After exploring the educational resource, the children had time to ask Spurs’ striker Emmanuel Adebayor about his own upbringing in Togo. Adebayor said: "It’s important for us to spread the knowledge of our continent to children in the UK. It was great for me to see these children learning about Africa."

"For me, education is basis of life, but when I was growing up in Africa, we didn’t have this magnificent environment in which to study. It was important for me to explain to these children how lucky they are and how much better their life will be if they keep working hard. Giving these kids the opportunity to learn at the stadium is one of the best things we do at this Club, it’s amazing."

Andrew Cates, Chief Executive of SOS Children UK, said: "We are delighted that Tottenham Hotspur and Emmanuel Adebayor are helping to bring Africa to life for local school children. Through this workshop, the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation are enabling children in the UK to broaden their understanding of Africa"

Tottenham Hotspur have supported SOS Children since 2006. The club have supported our SOS Children’s Village Rustenburg in South Africa since 2007, and every first-team Spurs player sponsors an SOS child around the world.

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