A Ghanaian medical doctor has recounted how her Peace Corps teacher transformed her life

A Ghanaian medical doctor has recounted how her Peace Corps teacher transformed her life

Doctor Ruhaimatu Osman

The doctor is known as Ruhaimatu Osman and according to her, she was a bad student back in senior high school.

Her story was shared in a post by US Embassy Ghana which reads;

“Dr. Ruhaimatu Osman is a medical doctor at the Eastern Regional hospital- Ko foridua in Ghana. She shares this awe-inspiring story about her encounter with Peace Corps volunteers.

“I write in reference to the Peace Corps celebrating its 60th anniversary of impacting lives. I am a medical doctor at the Eastern Regional hospital- Koforidua in Ghana. I attended St. Louis Senior High School in Kumasi from the year 2006 to 2009. As a young ambitious girl who wanted to be a medical doctor, I had my fears. I kept on asking myself, what if I fail in life. In my first year of senior high school, Mr. Michael Ray Simpson (Ghana 2006-08) was introduced to my class as my chemistry teacher. He was a Peace Corps volunteer who had been posted to my school. This man brought academics out of its written pages and made them real. Not only that, he encouraged me to learn so hard and push for my dreams. So from a bad student in the class, his encouragement made an impact and I became among the best in my class. He told me I could make it when I didn’t see a possibility. He believed in me when I didn’t even believe in myself. I did so well in my final exams and entered medical school. Even with that he would at every point in time want to know my progress in life.

Today, I am a medical doctor. My success story is never complete without Peace Corps and without Michael Ray Simpson. In celebrating 60 years of service, I say thank you for so many years of impacting lives. I am proof that Peace Corps has made so much impact and affected so many lives positively. As I continue to seek for greater heights to become if not the best, one of the best intensive care specialists in the world, I carry with me the fact that, your contribution to my life has become indelible. So I would encourage the Peace Corps and the U.S. Embassy Ghana to continue your good work here in Ghana and around the world because that young girl (now a doctor) wouldn’t have achieved my dreams if you didn’t come my way.”