Ghanaian YouTuber, Berthold Kobina Winkler Ackon, popularly known as Wode Maya has stated that he was able to use $100 to turn his life around when he arrived in the country from China.
According to him, he was able to do so with the help of meeting the right people who mentored him to achieve such a feat.
In a July 8 interview with Kafui Dey on the GTV Breakfast Show, Wode Maya narrated his stay in China as a student.
He said, during his stay in the far Southeast Asian country, he witnessed a lot of racism against black people.
He indicated that the racism was glaring to the extent that he could not secure a job owing to skin colour.
From the experience, Wode Maya said he made it a personal mission to change the narrative about Africa and to project it in a positive light.
“I was based in China and the reason why I left Ghana was that I thought you can never make it in Africa. And when I went to China, the things that I was seeing the things that I was hearing…people just looking down upon me because I’m coming from Africa…I feel like if Africa becomes stronger if Africa becomes okay, we will be respected out there.
“Even sometimes you are going to look for a job and they will tell you u don’t look like Obama so ‘I’m sorry we are not going to give you the job’. That is when they need a black person but the black person should not be as dark as Wode Maya.
“I was too dark for a job that the description is ‘black people’ so imagine the ones that they will say no black people are allowed. You might be on a train and no one wants to sit beside you. You might be in an office and your own colleagues will be like ‘why are you here’. So all the time you feel inferior” Wode Maya recounted
The YouTuber said, for this reason, he decided to move to Africa to unearth the positive stories about it.
According to him, he came with $100 on his journey to Africa where he met accomplished people in Ghana who coached him into becoming what he is today.
“So I feel like I don’t belong there [China]. Where do I belong? That’s Africa. So I took it upon myself to come to Africa to come and tell positive African stories.
“Africa is not perfect but Africa is the place to be. People are just miseducated about Africa. When I was coming to Africa I came here with $100.
“It is not one of those stories because these days I have seen that every story that you tell out there people are saying that you are making it up. Like I told you I collected a loan that I had to pay back …let’s say over $5,000 but that is buying a ticket. I didn’t get even a dollar out of that money.
“With all the 5 countries that I wanted to go to in Africa, it was on a loan. My Chinese friend…I think he came to Ghana to see my mum.
“After everything went well I invited him to Africa and he was amazed by the beauty that he saw here. So I came in here, I came with a $100, live my life met people who have made it, they mentored me and this is where we are right now. It’s possible. It’s just that you are not meeting the right people on the ground,” Wode Maya said.