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 Survival to service: Margaret Odame Donkor the breast cancer preacher

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• Margaret Odame Donkor
• Margaret Odame Donkor

 A ‘trotro’ bus heading to Nsawam was filled with the usual sounds from conversations, music, and sometimes a preacher delivering a message.

But when Margaret Odame Donkor rises to speak, she does not preach salvation or sell herbal remedies. Instead, she shares her journey as a breast cancer survivor, urging passengers to examine their breasts regularly, seek medical help early, and never lose hope.

Her pulpit is not a church, but the crowded minibuses of Ghana’s public transport system. Her message is not about repen­tance, but about survival.

She urges wom­en to check their breasts regularly, encourages men to support their wives during health challeng­es, and reas­sures everyone listening that a cancer diagnosis is not the end of life.

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Magaret speaking on breast cancer

For Marga­ret, cre­ating aware­ness is more than a duty-it is a calling born out of personal pain, fear, and triumph.

Her words carried weight because they come from lived experience.

At age 48, Margaret has walked through the valley of fear and pain, battled stage three invasive carcino­ma, and emerged not just a survivor but an advocate determined to educate others.

Cancer journey

Margaret’s encounter with breast cancer stretches back decades. At 22, she discovered a lump in her left breast. It was removed and declared benign. Relieved, she skipped reg­ular checks and moved on. Then in 2021, the lump reappeared—this time spreading toward her armpit.

Margaret (second from right) with other breast cancer survivors

At a church screening in October 2022, doctors detected suspicious lymph nodes. Further tests confirmed her worst fear: stage three invasive carcinoma.

“It wasn’t easy,” she recalls softly. “But my faith in God kept me strong. My husband, children, family, friends, and colleagues formed an army behind me. Their prayers, visits, and en­couragement gave me the courage to fight.”

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“Be grateful every day because you never know what tomorrow may bring. No one has it all, but with love and support, you can endure,” she stated.

Margaret Odame Donkor

Her greatest fear remains recur­rence and not living long enough to see her children graduate and be­come the people she dreams for them to be.

Before cancer disrupted her life, Margaret had found purpose in inter­pretation. In 2020, a friend spotted a Judicial Service vacancy and en­couraged her to apply. After years of unsuccessful attempts at government jobs, she was reluctant, but she tried once more. This time, she succeeded and was posted to the Eastern Region, her home.

Today, she works at the Nsawam District Court, one of the busiest in the area. On a typical day, she arrives at 7:30am, prepares dockets, and confers with magistrates. She inter­prets proceedings in Twi, Ga, Hausa, and occasionally Ewe, ensuring that justice was accessible to all.

Her role is demanding. Cross-exam­inations require her to switch quickly between English and local dialects, while marriages often call for inter­preting vows in couples’ preferred languages. Still, she thrives. “The registrars and magistrates I’ve worked with have been amazing. They make the environment very comfortable,” she stated.

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Beyond the courtroom, Margaret is also an entrepreneur. In 2017, she founded Nubreed Décor, an events decoration business born from her childhood love for beautifying spaces. She recalls cutting paper decorations as a child and helping her cousin rent out chairs and decorate venues.

Balancing décor with court work was tough, and her health struggles after surgery made it even harder. Radia­tion left her with persistent rib pain, forcing her to slow down. “Now I hire more hands, which makes business expensive, but it helps me achieve my goals,” she explained.

Her biggest challenge as an entre­preneur remains finance. “The event industry is huge, but I have to work at my own pace and focus on my niche,” she admited.

Cancer changed how Margaret values people and relationships. She learned that those you least expect often become your strongest sup­porters. She urges families to stand by patients with prayers, encourage­ment, and financial support, remind­ing society that a cancer diagnosis is not the end of life.

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Her advocacy extends beyond awareness talks. She dreams of estab­lishing a counselling centre for young people and hopes Ghana will expand access to mammograms and radiother­apy centres. “Every patient deserves a chance at survival,” she said firmly.

She urged the youth to live peace­fully and be their brother’s keeper, learn to be content and rely on God.

To women, she asserted that, “love yourselves and make breast checks routine while calling on Ghanaians to be open-minded, avoid being judg­mental, and show love.

 By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu

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Dierre Doors names King Promise as Brand Ambassador for Ghana campaign

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Italian premium security door manufacturer Dierre S.p.A. has named award-winning Ghanaian Afrobeats and Highlife artiste King Promise (Gregory Bortey Newman) as the face of its new Ghana and West Africa marketing campaign.

The partnership, managed by Regiments Management Company Limited, forms part of Dierre’s efforts to strengthen its presence in the West African market.

The two-week campaign, themed “Secure What Matters,” will run across digital, outdoor and influencer platforms, with King Promise featuring in a campaign film showcasing Dierre’s Prestige and Synergy security door ranges.

“Home is everything. It is where you protect the people and things that matter most. Dierre builds doors that reflect exactly that security, quality and style without compromise. I am proud to represent a brand that stands for those values,” King Promise said.

Founded in Italy, Dierre is a global manufacturer of armoured security doors, interior doors and fire-protection systems. Its products carry international anti-burglary certifications across Classes 3, 4 and 5, with the company producing hundreds of thousands of doors, locks and safes annually.

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King Promise is one of Ghana’s leading Afrobeats and Highlife artistes, known for his distinctive sound, international collaborations and growing global audience.

The partnership combines Dierre’s security and design expertise with King Promise’s influence in contemporary African music and culture, as the brand expands its consumer engagement in Ghana and across West Africa.

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From a room to a global enterprise: The Michael L. Bartlett-Vanderpuye story

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• Michael L. Bartlett-Vanderpuye
• Michael L. Bartlett-Vanderpuye

From humble beginnings to building an enterprise with global ambitions, Michael L. Bartlett-Vanderpuye’s journey is a story of discipline, independence, resilience and the belief that businesses should be built to outlive their founders.

Long before he became the Group Chairman of M&C Group, Michael L. Bartlett-Vanderpuye was building from modest beginnings.

Mr Vanderpuye recieves a citation at the 100 Most Notable African Leadership Excellence Awards

His entrepreneurial journey did not start in a sophisticated corporate office or with a large team behind him.

At one stage, he was working from his room with limited resources, focused on turning an idea into a viable business.

That beginning became an important part of his philosophy: build the business first, then let the infrastructure grow with it.

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Michael Bartlett-Vanderpuye

Michael’s early experiences shaped his determination to become an entrepreneur. After university and periods of professional employment, including banking, accounting, marketing, packaging and logistics, he developed a deeper understanding of how businesses operate and how different industries connect.

 His exposure to mining advisory work, property and other commercial opportunities broadened his perspective and helped him identify opportunities beyond a single sector.

But the journey was far from easy.

He recalls the uncertainty of sending proposal after proposal without knowing which one would eventually open a door.

Even after establishing an office in East Legon, some people assumed he was working for someone else because they could not imagine that the business belonged to him.

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The confidence and corporate presence associated with success today were built through years of uncertainty, rejection, experimentation and persistence.

His evolution from working out of a room to leading M&C Group reflects a broader philosophy that has guided his business life: do not build an image before you build the substance.

For Michael, entrepreneurship is not simply about owning a company. It is about learning how to turn knowledge, relationships, opportunities and resources into sustainable value.

He believes professionals in every field can develop an entrepreneurial mindset by creating assets, building networks, investing in opportunities and developing additional sources of value alongside their careers.

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That philosophy has influenced the way he approaches business expansion. Rather than viewing companies as isolated entities, Michael sees opportunities to create connections between industries, people and services.

Strategic partnerships, in his view, can create greater value than treating every other business as a competitor.

His approach has also been shaped by research and international exposure. He argues that entrepreneurs must understand the markets they enter rather than simply copy businesses they see succeeding elsewhere.

Behind every successful enterprise, he believes, are structures, regulations, relationships, research and decisions that may not be immediately visible from the outside.

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As his business interests have grown, so has his ambition. M&C Group represents a significant chapter in that evolution, reflecting his drive to build an enterprise that extends beyond a single venture.

His vision is rooted not merely in personal wealth, but in creating businesses capable of generating employment, developing people, building partnerships and contributing to the wider economy.

Michael is particularly concerned about the role of the private sector in addressing unemployment and creating sustainable opportunities. For him, a successful business should ultimately do more than enrich its owner. It should employ people, develop skills, support suppliers and create opportunities that extend beyond the founder.

That long-term perspective is central to his understanding of success.

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He is cautious about equating visibility with achievement. In an age where social media can make a business appear larger than it is, Michael believes the real measure of an enterprise lies in its systems, customers, assets, operations and results. The brand should be supported by substance.

His personal journey has therefore become a lesson in patience and discipline. The man who once had to convince people that the business was actually his now speaks about building systems, protecting capital, understanding markets and thinking beyond the immediate reward.

And his ambitions do not stop with the present generation.

Michael describes legacy as something that should extend beyond his children to future generations. His objective is to build something sustainable-something that can continue creating value after he is no longer at the centre of it.

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From a modest room and limited resources to the boardroom and the development of a growing business group, Michael L. Bartlett-Vanderpuye’s story is ultimately about building before displaying, learning before expanding and creating something designed to last.

His journey is a reminder that global ambition does not necessarily begin with global resources. Sometimes, it begins with little more than an idea, discipline, persistence and the willingness to start where you are. – MyStoryMagazine

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