Mildred Ampadu-Nyarko, or Mildy, was born in Accra, Ghana in 1984. With a mother in the lowpaying
Ghana Education Service, and a father who depends on intermittent contracts for his
construction services, Mildy grew up in a happy but financially stressed home. Upon graduation
from high school, she could not find the funds to pay for a four-year university. As a result, Mildy
entered a three-year Polytechnic school, where she learned textile manufacturing.
As Mildy says, “There would have been no way to rise up. There are very few textile
manufacturers in Ghana, and so many graduates like me in the textile field, that even getting a
job is hard, let alone rising to a position of influence.”
Enter Rising Data Solutions (RDS), a Samasource provider. When Mildy first came to RDS, she
was a happy but unskilled young woman, with little experience in technology or technologybased
skills such as typing. She was hired for her positive attitude and willingness to learn.
Mildy was not the best agent to start off with — there were others who typed faster, discerned
the English language more fluidly, and had fewer errors when transcribing messages. But it was
Mildy’s attitude that separated her. Every day, she strived to improve, arriving early to work to
practice typing. Every day, she came to work with a smile on her face and a positive attitude
which was infectious, inspiring everyone on the floor to smile and enjoy their work.
After only 8 months, Mildy was given the title of Team Leader, as is now responsible for 15
colleagues, coaching them, motivating them, monitoring them, and creating complex reports
which are sent up the chain to the Operations Manager, who depends on her and the other
Team Leader’s accuracy to measure RDS’s performance as a company.
These days, Mildy’s future is bright. She is an example of the potential of the youth of Ghana to
rise up and rise to the occasion.
3 Comments
This anecdote is a great example of how poverty is not a result of laziness but simply a lack of opportunity. It is another reason why we should give work not aid.
This story is truly inspiring – it illustrates a great example of attitude over aptitude. To reiterate what was said, the lack of opportunity is often the cause of poverty – and thus I look up and salute Samasource for devoting its mission to help someone like Mildy succeed.
I like how Mildy’s story isn’t all that different from a scenario that could happen in a workplace here in the States. The people Samasource deals with can be different culturally, but in a working environment, they have just the same desire and drive to succeed as we do.