Mary Adotei: From classroom teacher to women’s advocate

WHEN some of her pupils failed to show up at school, Mary Adotei did not always assume they were absent. Sometimes, she went looking for them.

In the communities where she taught, getting a child into the classroom could require more than preparing lessons. Mrs Adotei remembers occasions when she had to visit the homes of pupils, bathe them, prepare them and bring them to school herself.

“There were times I had to go to the homes of some of the children, bathe them and bring them to school,” she recalled.

It is a memory that captures much of her journey over the years as a teacher, a profession she entered without knowing it would become central to her identity.

Now, after years of working with children and communities, Mrs Adotei is taking lessons from the classroom into a new arena.

She is contesting the position of Women’s Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Asikuma Odoben Brakwa (AOB) Constituency in the Central Region, hoping to use her experience working with people to contribute to the welfare of women in the constituency.

But her story begins in the classroom.

After completing her basic and secondary education, Mrs Adotei spent 12 years working as a pupil teacher before she had the opportunity to receive professional training.

In 2006, she entered Fosu College of Education and completed her training in 2011 with a Diploma in Basic Education.

She returned to the classroom and has remained there since, teaching in different communities before moving to her current school, Catholic Boys Basic School in Breman Asikuma, in 2019.

The years have given her a front-row seat to the transformation education can bring.

Some of the children she once taught have grown into professionals, carrying the lessons they learnt in her classroom into hospitals, schools, offices and other workplaces.

Mrs Adotei said she had encountered former pupils who were now doctors, nurses, teachers and even a lawyer.

For a teacher, she said, such moments bring a special kind of satisfaction and reinforce the reason she remains passionate about education.

Her journey, however, has not been without difficult moments.

Teaching in local communities sometimes meant dealing with circumstances that went beyond academic work. Some pupils needed encouragement, personal attention and practical help before they could even settle down to learn.

Those experiences taught her that the challenges confronting people cannot always be solved from a distance. That understanding has followed her into her political activities.

Mrs Adotei has been involved in the NDC for years and previously served as a branch treasurer. She has also supported women in her branch, including assisting some to access medical treatment and providing help to families when the need arose.

She is now making her third attempt at becoming the constituency’s Women’s Organiser.

Her motivation is linked to what she has seen around her.

Mrs Adotei wants women in the constituency to have access to skills and opportunities that can help them become more economically independent.

She believes her years as a teacher have prepared her for the work, too, because the profession has taught her to listen, communicate, understand different circumstances and work patiently with people.

For her, the transition from teacher to political organiser is therefore not a complete departure from the path she has followed.

The classroom taught her to work with individuals. Politics, she hopes, will give her the opportunity to work with a wider group of women.

If elected, Mrs Adotei intends to continue teaching while taking up her political responsibilities. She said she would organise her time to attend meetings and constituency activities without abandoning her duties to her pupils.

Away from school and politics, she is a wife and mother of two sons who are pursuing their degrees at university.

Her message to young girls is shaped by everything she has seen education do for the children she has taught.

For Mrs Adotei, education remains one of the strongest tools available to young people, especially girls seeking to build better futures.

She wants them to stay in school, pursue further education and acquire skills that will prepare them for the future.

“Nowadays, you cannot go forward without education,” she said.

By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu

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