A Ghanaian Hero: 19 Years in Afram Plains

At a time that many nurses are leaving the shores of the country to other countries to seek greener pastures, a midwifery superintendent, Mrs. Agnes Dentaah Darko, has chosen to work at the Donkorkrom Presbyterian Hospital, in one of the deprived areas of the country for almost 19 years.

Mrs. Darko came to the hospital in November 1984 after working at Sandema hospital in the Upper East region for six years. She first served two years at Jirapa hospital where she pursued her nursing training course.

Chronicle met this dedicated and selfless woman in its recent visit to the Afram Plains district.

According to Mrs. Darko, many of the colleagues she met at the hospital, and those who came later, have left, but she resolved to stay and assist the people who needed health services most. She said during those days there were no electricity, potable drinking water and several other amenities.

Mobile health services were also very difficult due to the bad nature of roads in the area.

Mrs. Darko, who now heads the maternity department of the hospital, said most of her colleagues cited lack of social amenities and proper educational facilities for their children as their reasons of not accepting postings or leaving the area but she stayed and enrolled her kids in the available school there.

At the moment, her first son is in the University of Cape Coast, the second, a female, is in the Teachers training college at Kibi with the third one holding City and Guilds certificate in dressmaking. The last is in the Akim Swedru Secondary School.

She advised all her colleagues to be dedicated to their work and have compassion for patients since, as health workers, they are trained to save the lives of their fellow human beings.

She also appealed to them not to think only of the monetary gains of their jobs but to think how best they could help to improve the health delivery system in the country.