Author: gertrudeasumadu

This might be my second favourite month of the year (after October – OBVIOUSLY!). Why? I went back home specifically to celebrate my friend and sister who was getting married. 

It was great enjoying the weather (even though it was HOT!), catching up with friends and loved ones, enjoying some good food, visiting tourist sites (there wasn’t enough time to do this…)

The highlight was being a bridesmaid for my friend Natalie (we have been friends for 15 years now)..YEP!…since secondary school days. She has been a very dear and close friend of mine and she is one person I was not going to miss her wedding (I have missed a couple I am gutted about). I am thankful to God I even had the means to attend this particular one. 🙂

By God’s Grace, the ceremony went well and I enjoyed every bit of it…this is my second time being a bridesmaid but this is my favourite one yet because it is Natalie! I am so happy for you sis and wishing you all the best in this new journey :). 

So many pictures to share but hey…this is it!

This is my shortest trip ever to Ghana and as usual leaving is ALWAYS the hardest part. Home is always home…and this is something I always feel when I go back home. I hope I will be able to make it a yearly thing from now onwards and relocate in a few years time (YES!)

November was a good one! How was your November? Looking forward to December :). I hope this year ends well for us all! AMEN!

See you soon with the last blog post of the year! Take care!

October is a very special month – those who know, know. Well, it is actually my birth month!

And as usual, I go all the way out to celebrate it – because why not? Birthdays only happen once in a year, so to me, it is ALWAYS worth celebrating. It recently dawned on me that since 2017, I have always travelled for my birthday (that was a year after I finished my first degree). Phew! Talk about consistency…that means for the past 8 years, I have not celebrated my birthday in the UK! Praise God! 

I went somewhere special – I enjoyed my day with nice and warm weather, with lovely people and saying ‘Cheers to life’.

I thank God for life, I am thankful for 32. I pray this new age brings me more fulfillment, career progress, good health and prosperity all round. 🙂

I normally don’t expect gifts on my birthday – the best gift is what I give to myself :). My wonderful colleagues however showed me love – this was unexpected but was a sweet gesture. Thanks guys!

I got to spend some time with my lovely nephew who I had not seen in a while. Missed him!

I attended a Development day for work – which was an interesting one :). It is always nice to get together with colleagues from other areas, catch up, share ideas and most importantly feel that someone cares and listens :). 

Still on work, I caught up with my lovely colleague turned friend and sister, Linda, my colleague Chidinma and my lovely senior colleague, Rodney for a mini catch up and farewell for our sweet Linda 🙂.

I saw on the news that a Ghanaian woman, Afua Kyei is the most powerful black woman in the UK. She is the CFO (Chief Financial Officer) of the Bank of England. Way to go! These are the kind of things that inspire me and keep me going! 

A friend also reached out to me to be a mentor on a fellowship programme (African Women Leadership Forum and Fellowship) she is currently running – it was a privilege to do so :). I always enjoy pouring into young girls – I may not not know it all (I do not actually) but having walked down certain paths – I am always willing to share my knowledge and experience with others – if it will help ease their journeys, why not? 

Feeling cool and nice as I wrap up my birth month :). It was a good one 🙂

Now, there is a conversation circulating on Ghanaian media platforms about girls having to cut their hair for secondary school – as someone who went through this system, I have so much to say. I have actually talked about this on my Whatsapp status before but I believe I would need to write a separate blog post about it because the number of ignorant takes I have seen on this is alarming! The fact that you went through something does not make it right and does not mean everyone else has to go through it!

This is a foreign student in a Ghanaian secondary school with her hair but Ghanaian students in the same school have to cut their hair so they are not distracted. Make it make sense…

Thank you October :). I look forward to seeing you next year.

Thank you for reading my blog post. Looking forward to seeing you soon with another one 🙂 

Happy new month in advance :). November already looks good! 

Thank you September for the memories 🙂

Thank you God for your mercies and all that you continue to do in my life.

As I draw closer to my birth month (which is actually here as I write this) I am confident of all good things happening for me as I pray and wish for them. AMEN!

My highlight for this month is my colleague turned friend and sister, Linda. I have known Linda for a couple of months and within that short time, she has been such an amazing person :). In the world of work mostly filled with drama, gossip, backbiting and toxicity, it is always refreshing to have something you can count on, someone who supports you GENUINELY and someone who DEFINITELY has your back.

Dear Linda, I want you to know I appreciate you very much. Thank you so much for the gift of your friendship and all that you have done for me in the past few months. You are deeply appreciated and may the good Lord continue to bless you and enlarge your coast. May your new journey be great! (I know it will!)

This month, I reconnected with some loved ones and also had the chance to be a GOOD SAMARITAN (story for another day). But I am glad I could be of assistance. It is always good to be good as a human being and especially in a world full of EVIL.

I hope that the month of September was good to you. What was your highlight? I can’t believe we are three months away from 2026. Wow! I honestly pray that this last quarter is the ABSOLUTE BEST!

Thank you for reading. Wishing you a happy new month – have a blissful one! See you soon with another one!

The month of August…phew! An interesting one I’d say.

One interesting thing I learned this month is that most people can’t take what they dish out and people know exactly what they are doing…

Anyways, I haven’t got much to update (maybe not), just that I am still going about my work and other things I am involved in – Global Activists Network, GUBA Foundation etc!

The Notting Hill Carnival took place last week and as someone who has not experienced it before, I really wanted to but alas I didn’t. Maybe, next year I will be eager to go but for now…

I took a trip to 1957 Restaurant in London to try their food – unfortunately, I did not eat what I really wanted (as what I wanted wasn’t on their menu for the day) but I still enjoyed my time – the Daddy Lumba music being played whilst I was there was the icing on the cake. The owner was around – he was friendly and chatty 🙂 I had Banku and Okro Stew and washed it down with an ‘Aben wa ha’ cocktail and some chichinga – cos why not?

Also, I prepared a particular soup I have not had in ages – ‘nkatekonto’ – a mixture of groundnut (nkate3) and kontommire (cocoyam leaves – I used spinach as a substitute). I made the soup with goat meat and smoked mackerel and paired it with fufu! It was AMAZING!

I have been thinking maybe I should go into photography – because why not? I took this shot somewhere in London – I love breathtaking views. My dream is actually to live in a mountainous place where I wake up everyday to stunning views – I experience this when I travel sometimes but I want it to be a daily thing! So help me God!

I saw a rainbow (not seen some in years) after it rained a couple of days ago – Summer is officially over! Lovely!

Another stunning shot I took days ago after work – nature is so beautiful! God is indeed an ARTIST.

My auntie visited from Ghana and I caught up with her – it’s always amazing to catch up with her 🙂 My one and only rich auntie! (she will beat me for saying she’s rich 😂)

And oh, my sister welcomed a baby! I am an auntie again. GO ME! 

August was a mixture of EVERYTHING and I am here for it! Life is meant for living and I am here doing the exact THING!

Gradually, we are getting close to the end of the year eh….and my favourite month is ALMOST here! Enjoyment LOADING…

How was the month like for you? Regardless, you are still alive and pushing through – that is all we can do! 

Thanks for reading my blog post – I will see you soon with another one 🙂 A happy new month in advance!

And just like that the month has come to an end 🙂 How was July for you? It almost seems like this year is on a run eh….

My July began on such a good note! I got to see one of my favourite artistes perform LIVE – Black Sherif from Ghana – we are from the same hometown (Konongo). It is no surprise that one of my favourite songs on his debut album ‘The Villain I Never Was’ is ‘Konongo Zongo’. 

The ‘Iron Boy’ concert was FIRE! The concert started off with old school music and then we transitioned to the Hiplife Era to the Azonto Era and finally to the current era – Afrobeats (or whatever it’s called). Then finally, the moment we had been waiting for, Blacko came on stage giving us back to back HITS! I lost it when he performed my FAV song (most repeated song on his debut album) – Wasteman! Catchy song with fire beat and most importantly the lyrics…’Now my bredda is a wasteman, he is a wasteman in a wasteland….where money holders make the rules and regulations..See my jigga, only Jah Jah e dey guide man‘…A true representation of the wickedness of politicians and the repercussions of poor governance and corruption on the average citizen. 

The second highlight is when he performed ‘Second Sermon remix’ towards the end of the concert – the atmosphere was charged – as it should be! The song is FIRE! Truth be told I did not really learn the songs on his new album ‘Iron Boy’ – I wish I did but hey I wanted to see him perform live, I did and the icing on the cake is he performed my fav song! Mission accomplished. I came back home and listened to the album and my instant fav was ‘Top of the Morning’ – it gives me the same vibes as ‘Wasteman’. One thing I love about Black Sherif is how relatable his songs are and especially LYRICS. We may live in a generation that may be all about beat but I pay attention to lyrics. What I listen to matters a lot to me!

And oh the concert was sold out! Love it for him – especially as it was rescheduled from May to July (Blacko, meny3 saa biom wate?)

There was a ‘Bring your favourite snack from your home country’ day at work and I took some Ghanaian snacks – my colleagues who tried loved it! – Nkatie Burger, Brukina, Plantain Chips, Atwom), Adaakwa and some Golden Tree chocolates. They loved it…especially the Nkatie Burger & Plantain Chips.

As part of my role as the Project Coordinator for the GUBA Foundation’s ‘Autism I am Not a Stigma’, I was invited by a friend who attends Faith Baptist Church in London to come and speak to the English service congregation about our project – detailing identifying autism symptoms, support available whilst sharing my personal experience. I also spent some time later that afternoon with the New Gen (youth wing) of the church where we discussed further what neurodiversity is, different neurodiverse conditions and how to collectively break the stigma surrounding these within our homes and communities. It was refreshing to hear from the different experiences presented by the young people and their understanding of the topic and ending on the note that indeed we need to embrace neurodiversity as a norm specifically within black communities – there is a lot of work to be done.

After the session, Afua and I with her sisters went to Bongo Bar and had TZ (Tuozaafi) with some Tsofi (Turkey Tail) – it tasted really good! What really stood out for me was their portions – for the price and the location (London), I was impressed!

My very good friend, my sister, turned 30! I met Dasola when I was in Leeds University in 2012. Since then she has become a very important part of my life – especially being there for me at one of my lowest moments in university! A true friend! Love you for life! My Naija Jollof….(inserts Ghana jollof – it tastes BETTER!)

Kemi Adetiba (King of Boys Fame) released her new flick (an 8 episode series), ‘To Kill a Monkey’ and it is FIRE! If you have not seen it yet, you could check it out on Netflix. There are so many lessons and key takeaways from this series but for me the main ish is that poverty is not good – you need to try as much as you can to beat it, before it beats you. Nobody respects a poor man, and being in poverty for a long time does something to a person such that when they are exposed to wealth, they can become the unthinkable and do the unimaginable. 

P.S. Bucci Franklin was AMAZING as Oboz…I noticed his brilliance in Rattlesnake. I am so happy he got the lead on this project where he gets to shine! Love it for him! William Benson as Efe was GOOD! This is my first time seeing him act and he IMPRESSED me! Yall deserves all the accolades!

And finally for Ghanaians all over the world, this month ended on a tragic note. Our beloved Daddy Lumba – the greatest artiste to come out of the country (I said what I said) sadly passed on at the age of 60 😩😭. When the news broke out on Saturday (26th July) I thought it was one of those false rumours but unfortunately, it turned out to be true. If you are a Ghanaian, you will understand what this man means to us; his timeless music, deep lyrics, danceable tunes and how his music has made a lasting impact on the highlife genre, other genres and artistes. I am still in denial…but unfortunately, he has gone to be with the Lord. He may be gone but his legacy lives on. I really wish there was a documentary on his life, music, legacy etc but hey…too late now. I hope we do something significant in his honour – over to you, the Ministry of Tourism & Creative Arts. 

I have been blasting his music for the past few days – I really love his music man. WHAT A MAN! WHAT A LEGACY!

That’s it for July – well, the highlights I am willing to share. I hope yours went well. I hope August and the coming months are better. A reminder to live and enjoy life like there is no tomorrow. Life is fleeting. Life is SHORT! Live your life o! Yoo!

See you soon with another blogpost! 

We are mid way into the year already! WOW! Thank God for life and the opportunity to do the things we love and pursue our goals. 

This month has been very eventful – work, personal life among other things. A girl is almost always BUSY!

This month began with one of my very good friends (16+ years) graduating with a DNP (Doctor in Nursing Practice) – my friend is A DOCTOR yall! Knowing her journey and everything she has been through, I am SUPER PROUD of her! I wish I was there in person to celebrate with her but alas…DISTANCE! Congratulations Benewaa! Go ahead and SHINE! 

My brother turned 30! Time is indeed running! But hey, that’s how life is! I had a nice time travelling over to celebrate with him – BIG SIS DUTIES YALL! Happy 30th Bro! Wishing you God’s blessings, favor, peace, joy, blessings and all HIS GOODNESS in this new decade! God be with you always!

Tyler Perry’s new movie, ‘Straw’ also came out this month and of course garnered a whole lot of reactions. If you haven’t seen it yet, you should. It is streaming on Netflix. All I have to say is Taraji P. Henson is a GREAT actress and deserves all the accolades she is getting. It was an emotional one even though some people argue they didn’t cry…I was moved to tears at certain points. Poverty is INDEED expensive. May poverty be far away from me and my LOVED ONES in Jesus name!

Since the beginning of the year, I had not taken a holiday yet…I was like WOAAH! That’s wild! I told myself I need a break even if it’s a couple of days – I took my first holiday in the month of June! It was amazing. Nice country, nice beaches, nice views, lots of history and things to learn. Definitely worth it! Pictures coming up soon! Let’s see where this summer will take me? Who knows?

Just after my holiday trip, I had to go for a compulsory training (for work ) – an INTENSE & OVERWHELMING kind of training at that and it was a PASS/FAIL kinda training/assessment – YEP! But by God’s Grace, your girl PASSED. Ah this was such a RELIEF (can’t even begin to imagine having to repeat it 😑). One of my senior colleagues was like I would have been surprised if you did not pass – hmm! It always feels amazing when people rate you so much…you know you can’t let the side down.

I came back from training and I had to play hosting duties to a family friend…Can never catch a break can we? I found myself in London as a tour guide as part of my hosting duties. It was very sunny and warm (which is great, some don’t like it)…and of course nice to take pictures but OH BOY! The crowd!😑..part of the reason I do not like going to London unless I really have to be there..what an OVERCROWDED city! Phew!

Anyways, June ended on a GREAT NOTE…looking forward to the rest of the year…may the next six months be greater and better!

P.S Someone disrespected me on a program I was on, about a year ago, the usual Gertrude would have responded in the same manner or even worse..the logical Gertrude reported and guess what? It was trivialised..About a year later, the person got their KARMA..I made sure of that! You come for me…I come for you harder! 🙂 

Thank you June for the memories. Looking forward to July and the rest of 2025!

And just like that, we say Goodbye to another month – the month of MAY! May was a GOOD month – a lot happened and most importantly, it ended on A HIGH NOTE! (I may detail this in my end of year blog post).

To begin with, my nephew turned 3 and I had the opportunity to celebrate with him! It’s always NICE to play COOL & RICH auntie – as for the rich part, we will get there soon by God’s Grace but for now, I’d stick to the COOL!

Also, I was on work training – for a week. Bruh! It was intense but hey, we made it!. For me, it was an opportunity to see another part of the UK I hadn’t been to – always seeing the positive in any situation 👌🏾. After the training, we did an Awards session and I won ‘Most Colourful‘ for my outfit choices – more like ‘Most fashionable‘ ☺️ (never to be caught unfresh!). I also met up with a fellow activist and friend (Michelle) after the training. ALWAYS A DELIGHT to meet like minded people!

As part of my role as a consultant with GUBA Foundation, I hosted a webinar on the topic ‘How to recognize signs of mental illness in children‘ – such a timely topic especially as May was Mental Health Awareness month. I also hosted a podcast session, speaking to three professionals on the topic, ‘Mind Matters: Conversations for the Community‘ – where we delved into how ethnic minority groups view mental health and how families, religious institutions, charities, organisations and the wider community can collaborate to destigmatize mental health issues within their communities. You can listen to it on Spotify here.

Furthermore, I met with my former line manager (Lynn), who invited me for drinks at her current organisation – it was great to catch up with her and also meet new people working within the social impact space – it was a long night but I am glad I went! (got the opportunity to talk about Global Activists Network to those I spoke to – because why not?)

At the very end of the month, my daughter graduated from her Masters degree program in Canada! Yes, my daughter ☺️ – so proud of her! Abigail was my school daughter in secondary school – a respectful and great young lady (she was a prefect back in secondary school yall!) – Glad to still have her in my corner!

And like I said, I ended May on a high note for TWO reasons! Ughh! It feels so amazing to have some of your dreams come true! I am thankful to God for all his mercies and goodness! I never take them for granted! I will share in more detail at the end of the year!

But yes! These are the main highlights for the month of May! It was great! I pray June is greater :). It will! See you soon with another blog post!

April has come and gone and definitely a month to remember.

I am grateful to God, as always for the opportunity to be alive and be living in certain moments I prayed for – I am sure this is something some of you can relate to. In this, I have confidence that it only gets better from here.

April was Autism Awareness Month and apart from my involvement with GUBA Foundation as part of our ‘Autism I am Not a Stigma’ project, I also shared my work with GUBA and personal & professional experiences with autism with my colleagues at work and also wrote an article about it to be shared on the ‘Communications’ page at my workplace.

This has been such an unexpected move for me as I do not like to share personal experiences especially on certain topics but since I broke the jinx last year, I am like why not?

Also, today is exactly a year since I moved into a new city. This move happened at such a difficult time but I am grateful to God who through great and supportive friends, HE always comes through!

A year later, a new job with great prospects, easy movement to and from London, peaceful life and many more opportunities to come! What more could I ask for?

The sun is also up! And I am loving it :). Hopefully, this stays on for a while – who knows?

There have of course been some disappointments, rejections and all (which is all part of the journey) but I choose to look at the POSITIVES only! Why dwell on something you have little to no control over? 

I am thankful for this month and I am looking forward to May and what it brings too. I always choose to stay THANKFUL!

Happy new month in advance I guess! Hope you are all doing well! How was your March? And how are you feeling about April?

Just like all months, this month came and passed by very quickly…and for me I have just been trying to live, adjust and be happy.

I also had the opportunity to catch up with an old friend (big sis) – who I haven’t seen in over 5 years – I like catching up with people I haven’t seen in years and sharing what we both have going on. It was a fun day touring for hours and taking cool pictures – because why not?

Most importantly, I have been settling in my new job – which is going quite well by God’s Grace. I am enjoying the training I am having to do as well as getting used to working with new colleagues and much older ones. Fingers crossed that it all goes well.

Just like that, the first quarter of 2025 is gone! Can’t believe it actually but I am looking forward to the rest of the year – still have a lot to accomplish! More travels, more money and more enjoyment! 

This month, I watched the British limited drama series on Netflix, Adolescence, which is still stirring a lot of conversations on social media on knife crime amongst teenagers and its linkages to online bullying. If you haven’t watched it, I think you should. The lead actor, Jamie Miller who plays the character, Owen Cooper, is brilliant and I am sure he has a bright career ahead of him! Kudos lad!

And, my comfort show is still Prison Break :). It used to be Pasion de Gavilanes, a Colombian telenovela which I was using to learn Spanish but unfortunately, it has been removed from Netflix so for now it is Prison Break until another series grabs my attention – I tried with some other recommended series (Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, Dexter, 24, Lost etc) but none of them did it for me 😦 So yep! PB forever 🙂

I hope April is better and great for all of us 🙂 Thank you for reading and I will see you soon with another post. God bless you and stay safe.

Hello everyone,

As promised, this year, I am trying to be very intentional about my blogging – a blog post per month which will most likely entail something interesting I did in the month, my highlight or just a recap of how the month went for me.

The month of February I’d say was the beginning of the year for me – January was more like a resting, reflecting and rejuvenating month – to face the year in full.

I started a new job! Exciting – I may talk more about this in my December recap but I am grateful to God for this opportunity as it is within a field that I have been trying to enter for the past 7 to 8 years hmm! (story for another day). I am still at the very beginning stage but I already feel great about it (colleagues, line manager, the nature of the role, proximity to home, among others!). I believe this is the beginning of something GREAT and cannot wait to see what the future brings forth.

Also, Global Activists Network (GAN) turned ONE! Hurray! For those who may not be aware I co-founded this initiative with a friend and fellow activist at the beginning of last year and so soon, we turned ONE. I am grateful to God, our members, team members, social media followers and of course everyone who has believed in me and contributed to me being here for this milestone. I know GAN will go ahead to achieve more – we have not even started yet!

I hosted our one year celebratory webinar on the 15th February with our incredible speaker in the person of Busayo Morakinyo where we discussed the topic,  ‘How to use innovation in scaling community driven projects’. Catch the full recording here and be inspired because you definitely will be. Busayo is a brilliant speaker and even more incredible changemaker who has made his mark in the social impact space. I was in awe! 

Also, I am still leading the Autism I am Not a Stigma project with the GUBA Foundation and this month, I was at a church somewhere in South London with my colleague raising awareness about autism and of course contributing to breaking the stigma surrounding the condition. I am forever grateful for this opportunity not because of the impact we are making but also getting to hear people commend us for starting this project – I know it will go on to do greater things thanks to our incredible sponsors!

What else? I think that is pretty much it and oh I am still stuck on rewatching Prison Break a zillion times LOL! Nothing else is nice for me – well at least for now. Maybe, I will snap out of it real soon but for now, let me enjoy this masterpiece and the hotness of Wentworth Miller (Michael Scofield) 😀.

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you had a great month and I pray March is a better one for us all. AMEN!

See you soon with another post 🙂