Dela Goldheart
Dela Goldheart a PHD student in Cambridge University tells her story to defend her self after one of her female social media followers call to tell her to desist from begging online.
This comes after Dela Goldheart came to social media to appeal for fund to buy herself a laptop to complete her thesis after it was stolen in a hotel.
She believes it's never a crime for someone to ask for support from Friends and family on social media as she got to the university through financial support she got from seeking for help online.
Read below the full statement from Dela Goldheart defending her action.
"PRIVILEGE AND THE LACK OF IT
Yesterday, I received a call from someone who meant well. Normally, this person wouldn't have gotten my phone number to call me. But she had my contact because I posted it online while raising funds to purchase a new laptop after the one I had got stolen recently.
Why did the person call? She called to advise me to stop begging online. Of course, she didn't say it like that. She was polite so I took my time to hear her out. She mentioned that yesterday was the second post she saw from me asking for financial assistance. Although I could not verify whether she was referring to my recent appeal for funds for the tidal wave flood survivors, I am guilty of making a few posts in which I have jokingly asked for assistance. For example, I posted a few weeks ago that I needed money to fix my hair. That was a joke. I chose to write that as a caption upon seeing how bad my hair looked in the picture. Someone sent me 100gh cedis because he thought I was serious and wanted to help. I was grateful but I wanted to send the money back. I only stopped myself from doing so because I was afraid he would think I was ungrateful and pompous. Washing and retightening my hair in an average salon costs less than 100gh. I am poor but I can afford that. My point here is that I can understand why someone will see that post and others as begging for money.
Back to the reason why I want us to talk about privilege and the lack of it... A lot of people feel ashamed about asking for help because they don't want to risk being called beggars. But beggars are not always created via laziness. Sometimes, beggars are created by the sheer chance of being born in an underprivileged home, community, country or continent. When the lady who called me mentioned that she felt bad seeing a fellow Ewe beg for help (or something similar), I took my time to explain to her how begging helps underprivileged people like me access things we would normally not have.
You see, I am a student at the University of Cambridge not because my trader mom or fisherman dad can afford it for me. Unlike my colleague ministers and presidents' daughters and sons who are accessing education on their parents' wealth (no pain here), I am only able to go to a school like Cambridge on the money (read shoulders) of privileged people. In other words, if not for Bill Gates's money, I won't be accessing the education I am having right now. And that is only because I stretched my arms to ask for help (read applied for scholarship) and was helped. How can I be ashamed of begging especially when begging is the reason why I may become Ghana's most fierce president 🤪🤪🤪
Let me tell you a story. While at the end of my master's degree program in the US, I had no money. My scholarship was two years and I had exhausted it all. Instead of doing the normal one program master's, I decided to get a graduate certificate in two other programs. This doubled my workload. With that and other challenges, I couldn't complete my thesis on time. So my scholarship ran out. But I needed to apply for PhD programs. Most of the schools had application fees that I couldn't afford. After thinking long and hard, I created a GoFundMe page on which I asked my friends, family, and followers on Facebook for help. I was surprised. Help came from everywhere including those I didn't imagine. And that is how I was able to apply for schools and ended up in Cambridge.
My point is, when you come from where I come from, you need to appreciate your gifts as well as count your lack of blessings. And there is something else, each level has its demands. While your parents probably have enough food to feed you and pay your basic school fees so your community considers you rich, those same parents may not be able to do much for you when you go to a university abroad where your fees are much higher and in dollars. Do you get me? So let's learn to be kind and not judge people too harshly. The woman who called was understanding. She said she now understood things better. But I am sharing the story with you for the benefit of us all.
For me, I will always ask for help whenever my means cannot take me somewhere I need to be. And I won't feel ashamed about it. My prayer is more of us learn to ask for help anytime we need it. Let's give less weight to what others think of us. Because if you ask me, it is we the lucky ones who even have people to help us. Help is sacrifice. Always ask for help whenever you need it.
Shalom 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿"
Thank you for reading.
By: Jibril Jnr
#jjreports
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