Around the end of 1957 / beginning of 1958, I met a young man called Kodwo Gyim who had come from Obuasi to Esikadu, Sekondi, with his maternal grandparents to visit his late uncle, Anthony Kobina-Woode of the then Ghana Insurance Company which later became the State Insurance Corporation (S.I.C.). I liked Kodwo when I first saw him. Years later, when I had married his uncle, I saw him again in Accra, he was then an adult. He had come to Accra for help in getting a job through his two uncles, Uncle Kofi, and Uncle Kobina. After a stint in a furniture job, he got settled with Mankoadze Fisheries, care of his Uncle Kobina who was friends with the owner, the late Robert Ocran. When his Uncle Kobina passed, Kodwo did not forget us and neither did we. However, after the funeral he indicated that he needed time to get over his uncle’s demise, hence he wouldn’t be visiting for a while. I told him I understood. The family relationship thereafter got closer and Kodwo was with us at every family celebration. For me with Kodwo around, I didn’t have to buy any fish. He sent fish to me for quite a while, unprompted and on rare occasions I would call to tell him my fish was finished. The courage to make those calls came with jokes.
There was a time that I needed to get some very important historical information about my late husband from some people outside Accra. I asked Kodwo for help and he gladly arranged transport for me. Then came a turning point in my life, in the year 2003, when the Lord gave me a ministry for widows in need “care for the wounded”. When I told Kodwo about it, he freely gave me moral support and some assistance as and when able to until he retired. “…But blessed is the one who is kind to the needy” Proverbs 14:21b
Kodwo was a rare kind and a good spirited in-law and I pray that the Lord in his mercy heard our prayers for him. May he have eternal rest in Jesus’ name.