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Covenant Connections

Ghana to Gaffney

Apr 7, 2022

It took five years to get here, but now Vincent Anokye has a new family, a college degree and a wife
By ABBIE SOSSAMON
Ledger News Editor

8,765 miles from where he was born, Vincent Anokye has found a second home in Gaffney. But his journey to America did not come without obstacles.

Growing up in Ghana, Anokye said he was “blessed and fortunate.” One of five children, his father practiced medicine in Pankrono, a town in Kumasi, while his mother ran a grocery shop in the town. He hoped to follow in his father’s footsteps and obtain a medical degree, but acceptance into medical school in Ghana is difficult, he said. Anokye sought other routes to fulfill his dream and connected with an education consultant who matched him with Limestone College based on his interests and desired field of study.

In 2011, Anokye was granted admission to study biology at Limestone and his plans seemed to be falling into place — until he was denied a study visa by the U.S. Embassy in Ghana. Since medical school in Ghana wasn’t an option for Anokye, he was studying engineering, a field which he had no desire to learn. “I wasn’t making good grades because I didn’t want to be an engineer,” he said. The failing engineering grades raised some eyebrows at the U.S. Embassy, and Anokye believes they were concerned about his commitment to education in America.

However, the failing grades weren’t a reflection of Anokye’s intelligence. As a child in Ghana, he was a top student and received a good education, but that wasn’t enough to convince the Embassy. His study visa was denied five more times before he was told he would never come to the United States for education. He begrudgingly continued his engineering studies and earned a degree in 2013.

When his desire to study medicine still lingered, he chose a different route and left to pursue a medical degree in China in 2015. Just three months into his stay in China, Anokye’s father got sick and was no longer able to work, which left him financially unsupported.
“I started growing hungry and poor, but I did not want to go back home and give up on my dreams,” he said. “I did not want to go back to Ghana as a failed person.” He connected with a Christian fellowship organization that helped with living expenses and secured funds for a seventh interview with the U.S. Embassy. “I promised her (the embassy agent) I would study hard if I made it to the United
States,” he said. Seven must be his lucky number because his study visa was finally granted.

The 11 months Anokye spent in China were some of the most difficult he endured, so a new letter of acceptance to Limestone and study visa breathed new life into his goal to become a doctor.

Anokye arrived in Gaffney from China on August 14, 2016, five years after he first hoped to enter the country. While en route to Limestone, Anokye passed a stately white church and declared that’s where he wanted to attend while in Gaffney. That church would soon become more than just a place of worship for him. Growing up Presbyterian in Ghana, Limestone Presbyterian Church seemed like a natural fit for him. A few days into his new life in America, Anokye walked to the church to inquire about services and was invited to attend Sunday worship and a Wednesday night supper. Before he could make it to one of those services, Anokye received a text message that was mistakenly sent to his number. He took it as an opportunity to introduce himself — and to ask for a job. “I came here with no money and did not have a job,” he said. “I explained my situation on the text message and asked if they had any jobs for me.”

Mary Carpenter was the person on the other side of the message. While many might blow off the response from a stranger, she did not. Carpenter bought Anokye groceries and took him to get a meal. And she continued to be a blessing to him. Knowing several members at Limestone Presbyterian, she accompanied him to a Wednesday night supper.

Anokye became a regular visitor to the church’s Wednesday night meals and Sunday morning services. He was quickly embraced by the congregation who opened up many doors and relationships that have led him to where he is today. Carpenter introduced Anokye to Dr. Todd Morgan, who in turn introduced him to Robert Overton, former dean of students at Limestone College, and to Rev. Ron Singleton, the former director of Limestone’s Christian Education Leadership Program (CELP). Anokye was accepted into CELP and received campus housing, scholarships and a 20-hour a week position in the college chapel, which helped him pay tuition. Singleton and the late Dr. Walt Griffin, former Limestone president, played an important role in the recommendation of academic scholarships. “Basically, they gave me an assurance and hope that I could have an education with Limestone University despite my financial difficulties,” he said. “They worked together with my church family in Limestone Presbyterian Church and friends in the Gaffney community to bless my life abundantly.”

Anokye deeply appreciates how the Limestone Presbyterian church members financially supported him and accepted him into their families. Dr. Mac and Janet Carroll provided housing for Anokye between his college graduation and before his graduate school. Church members and community friends provided Anokye with odd jobs and paid him generously to help with his living expenses.

But one Limestone Presbyterian member has become his rock — Hazel Hubbard. Hubbard is his “adopted grandmother” and has been a pillar of support for Anokye. “She is so special to me,” he said. “She is the main orchestrator of my finances; she finds ways to help me. If not for her, I don’t know where I would be. She helped me think about a possible career in physical therapy.” Hubbard felt an instant connection to Anokye, who has become a member of her family. Like her grandchildren, Anokye calls Hubbard, “Nana.” “Recognizing Vincent’s need for financial support and friendship, I felt drawn in a way to help him make adjustments here and feel a part of the church,” she said. “He’s the same age as several of my grandsons, and so I think I understood his need to feel secure in a new situation.”

Anokye had the opportunity to meet physical therapist Joe McKowen, which led to a volunteer opportunity and career change. “I felt like I was more drawn to PT school, and once I compared the cost of med school to PT school, I made the decision to become a physical therapist,” he said. Anokye graduated magna cum laude from Limestone College in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in general biology. He was accepted to Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va., where he is currently studying to become a doctor of physical therapy. His expected graduation date is May of 2024.

His career change also led him to his bride, Loretta Owusu, also a native of Ghana. Anokye and Owusu met on Upward Christian, a Christian Dating App, in May of 2021. Owusu is a nurse for a hospital in Winchester and studying for a doctorate of nursing at Maryville University.

In January, Anokye’s “adopted family” — the Limestone Presbyterian congregation — hosted a wedding celebration for the couple. Anokye felt it was important to be married in the church that has supported him through financial gifts, prayer and moral support since 2016. “As a Christian, I felt I should get married in the church,” he said. “Loretta’s parents are also back home in Ghana so it felt right to come to Gaffney and have the wedding at the church I belong to.”

The church family undertook the event as a church project and sponsored the wedding and reception on January 22. Before the Gaffney celebration, a traditional Ghanian wedding was held virtually for Anokye and Owusu’s families on Dec. 31. Anokye feels eternally grateful for the opportunities that have led him to Gaffney, as well as the church congregation and Limestone staff that have embraced him as one of their own. “The entire depth of my blessings and support has been from all members, every single one, of Limestone Presbyterian Church,” he said. Following his 2024 graduation, Anokye plans to return to South Carolina to be close to his church family.