• Portia Gabor displaying her award

 Media General’s multiple award-winning journalist, Portia Gabor, who was recently crowned GJA’s Journalist of the Year, has once again added on to her awards list by winning the MTN Hero of Change award.

She was among 10 other people awarded the MTN Hero of Change 2022 on Thurs­day, November 24, 2022. The award comprised the citation, GH¢20,000.00 and the convert­ed title, “Hero of Change.”

The journalist’s selection for the award was in recogni­tion of her impactful reporting on COVID-19 at the time when the novel virus was at its peak and represented an existen­tial threat all over the globe. The disease was then ravaging the world with several death casualties by the day but Portia placed her life on the line to interview a survivor to bring knowledge and hope about sur­viving the disease to Ghanaians.

Portia expressed surprise at the nomination and only found out on the day of the awards that one Yayra Ocloo had put her name out as someone who deserved to be rec­ognised. She shared the expe­rience of having to take extra care to avoid contraction of the virus while in the field and recognised the support of her husband and family who did not shun her even when she had been in the midst of COVID-19 patients, but sup­ported her to persevere.

Portia dedicated the award especially to Fredrick Drah, the very first COVID-19 patient and the first survivor in Ghana, who was treated at the Ga East Municipal Health Centre. He overlooked the stigma suffered by COVID-19 patients at the time and gave her the chance to tell his story. She also dedicated the award to the frontline health workers whom she says gave her the access and the information at a time when the whole world was still trying to understand the novel virus, and there was no standard medication, with the modes of transmission still being debated.

Portia was full of praise for her crew and acknowl­edged the cameramen, Phillip Katsitiku and Prince Affum, as well as the entire management and staff of Media General who supported her work during the period under review.

“I feel humbled by the female pacesetters in the industry, Gifty Afenyi Dadzie, Dr Joyce Aryee…” who she says have per­sonally congratulated her amid an outpour of cheers from the public.

The elated Portia Gabor has used this unexpected, but well-deserved honour to position herself as a mentor for up and coming youth who aspire to jour­nalism. In her own words; “the result of hard work, is more work” in recogni­tion of the journey ahead to make more impact in society.