Fathers' Journey

Material

JESSICA A. DADDZIE

SPRING 2022

Fathers’ Journey

dad Father Pap—s Padre Papa

FATHER Born: 25 october 1965 probably the only man I respect dearly. thank you, PAPA

Paps at 26

Birthday party, paps at 25

What was the hardest thing you went through as a child? paps: “I haven’t really gotten to a point in life that I had a hard time” Are you serious paps? paps: “yes, not really. In my life I haven’t really gotten to experience the hardest thing”

were you always this ‘cool guy’ dad?

where were we in this picture? why did we take pictures at this place? who’s place was it? paps: “Brother Appiah... where were we? Was it Tema? Yeah, I see Christy in the picture so we were at Tema, Community Four” what was that, Community Four? paps: “It was the street name.. just like here we have Masefield Cresent – the name of our road, in Ghana they had their name roads like that” What year or month was it? Around what time? paps: “1994, April... yeah I remember this. I went to visit Appiah... we were in Accra and they were in Tema at the time”

04.17.1994 Cool, Collected Young Man That’s My Dad in His Late 20s

paps who was cousin, Kwame Amoako?

paps: “right there is my cousin, Kwame Amoako, he died, he got sick and had fallen ill; around the time I came to Italy in 1996. I heard that he had died later...”

This is maa and her siblings

Paps with his friends at the beach

from the left side...

kwaku kwame john jr. paps aka joseph kwesi

do you recall what you guys were doing here?

paps: “Yes. (laughs) Those were the good times... we were painting Kwame’s new store – he was a tailor. It was his first shop, after he had finished his master’s.

He opened a store in Takoradi, near maa’s area, where she lived.

“The boys and I were helping out painting the store for the opening”

who is this woman, right here?

I don’t think I have ever heard of her before... paps: “(laughs) that’s my grandma – old lady, the greatest woman. that’s my mom’s mom – your great, great grandmother... how old was she? she look pretty much old paps: “Her age.. they didn’t even know.

The day she died they, the family, had put her on a sort of age scale and apparently she had 120 years old when she died.

You see how she is holding her bible... she never went to school and yet she knew how to read” how is she the ‘greatest woman’ to you? paps: “she was one of the people in Twifo-Heman to build the communities’ foundation back in the day.

All of them that were with her had died.

She was the last one to be alive.

The greatest women, yet”

All of them were girls”

I don’t recognise the woman in the picture, who is she? It looks like wedding pictures... paps: “my old man. Agya Awotwe, there.

When he had separated from my mum, went on and married this woman” when was these picture taken? how old were you? paps: “the date is not even at the back don’t even remember how old I was... probably in primary school with Kwabina’s mum. Don’t remember. do you remember your stepmother, what type of person was she? paps: “That’s my step-mother, sista Maggie. He had separated from my mum to marry her and had 7 kids.

are you still in contact with them, your step-sisters? paps: “yes, don’t know all of their contact numbers but two of the sisters I have their contact.

She had gone to her mother’s house so I was able to talk to her and she sounded well” so is she still alive? paps: yes she is. when she married father, she was young then so yeah... she is in her 70s by now or so”

wondering.. what had happened between grandma and grandpa...

tell me about grandma paps: “this was her death certificate. I had asked them to send me a copy so I could ask leave of absence but they didn’t give it to me.

This woman... she was so stubborn” (laughing) really? paps: “hmm, never understood her or an understandable person. That is your grandma – was.”

tell me more about her paps: “she had died in 2010, 2nd March... (lowered tone voice) she has 10years now, it been ten years. Since she died.”

how about grandpa. what type of man was he? paps: “This is the funeral book. They used to call him Kwesi. He was in a lodge... a secret society in Ghana, one of the big society people – a church society type of thing... He died in 2007, in April when he died they buried him... he was 70 years old. (struggling to talk about him) Josephine Awotwi Dadzie, Joseph Awotwi Dadzie...”

what else, paps? paps: “he and other people built a foundation called ‘orphan centre’. The book there... has his biography you should have seen it”

my dad dodging some of the questions... I wish I had met my grandparents

what is happening here in this picture, papa? paps: “this. me and maa. we went to Kelvin’s dad. we went to his house in Accra” why were you guys there? paps: “we went there for the holidays, me and her.

We had just left Takoradi and from there went to Accra.” was I born then? paps: “ah! Nah we hadn’t given birth to you yet. We gave birth to you after I had travelled to Italy”

was this your first car? paps: “This was my very first car. I had given it to grandpa because his car would breakdown on him so when I heard I promised him to give him my car instead to use. That when I shipped it through a container shipping facility to him... my old man” where were you in the far picture, the last one? paps: “It looks so dark. What is this? Ahhhh!

We had gone to church in Italy I was at the back when I took the picture.

We were doing a programme of some sort and I took the picture when I was sitting at the back.

how did you feel when you first learned you were going to be a dad? paps: “feeling how? I felt good that I was going to have a child of my own. Bringing another life into the world.” where were you when you learned that you were going to be a dad? paps: “I was in Italy” no, I mean when mum gave birth paps: “Ah, I was in the UK. I was at aunty Linda’s house in crowding and I had reserved a call from maa saying that she gave birth. The first time that I step foot into the UK that’s when you were born... exactly the 29th of March. I was allowed a visa and that is how I came to the UK.”

paps: “Your aunty, she had said to me to come and live here in the UK but I wanted to go back to Ghana and bring maa and you to Italy” “applied for the papers. We went for the States, it didn’t go through however when I applied for Italy it went through” around what time did maa and I get to Italy then? paps: “Exactly 6 months later maa and you came to Italy”

how old was I in this picture? paps: “Apostle Yeboah, may he rest in peace, he was the one that blessed me and your mother’s marriage; do you remember?

Back in Italy, he had blessed our 25th-anniversary wedding and then died” do you know how he died? paps: “they were doing a three-day fasting programme service and on the third day... he had dressed up: wore his suit, shoes and sat on his chair waiting for the church members to call him to get to church and as he was waiting with his bible by his side on the hand... they said he had a heart attack or a heart failure of some sorts” paps you mean a heart attack paps: “yes, a heart attack and died. he had been taken from his throne”

He had been like a father figure to every single of us... so when we heard that he had died... we all were heartbroken. Including, paps...

how old is this picture? paps: “This was the 10th anniversary. Apostle Yeboah had invited all of us. The pastors that came and helped to celebrate, Apostle and his wife had called all of the pastors, reverends and bishops to take a picture to remember the day.”

Father [dad] noun The man who loves you unconditionally from birth and puts his family before himself.

“He will always make you feel safe and protected.

A man who loves, supports and encourages his children.

Often tells bad dad jokes but always acts as a source of inspiration for all and is loved more than he will ever know.

The one who will always make you feel safe and protected.

A man who loves, supports, quides, inspires and encourages his children”

Thank you paps... love, Jess.

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