Emma Florence Yaa Adinyira Amedahe was the lady-in-waiting to Fathia Nkrumah
She applied to the Flagstaff House to take care of the wife of the then governor of the Gold Coast, Governor-General Lord Listowel.
Emma Florence Yaa Adinyira Amedahe took her application letter to the Flagstaff House during the time slated for the interview to select the best candidate who will then become the lady-in-waiting to Lady Listowel, the governor’s wife.
She handed her application letter to the governor’s aide-de-camp and he took her and other ladies through the interview process.
The interview was not a face-to-face nor written interview but rather, it was a practical interview. It was how to serve visitors.
Emma Florence Yaa Adinyira Amedahe was able to pass through the practical interview successfully and she got hired by the colonial government to work at the Flagstaff House.
“The aide-de-camp came and called us in again. He thanked us for coming but he asked who is Emma Florence Yaa Adinyira Amedahe and I responded. He ordered to stand at his right-hand side whilst the other ladies were at his left-hand side,” Yaa Adinyira Amedahe narrated to Joy News.
When asked how she felt with the instruction from the aide-de-camp, Major Port Hunt, she stated that she was very scared.
“I was afraid of the white man already and getting called, I was a bit afraid. He bid the other ladies goodbye and told them that when there is an opportunity at the Flagstaff House again, they should not hesitate but gladly honour and they left. He told me I have been employed at the Flagstaff House to take care of Lady Listowel and her belongings. He asked how much will I charge and I become more frightened. It was a headache for me,” Emma Florence Yaa Adinyira Amedahe narrated further.
She noted that Major Port Hunt asked her how much is she paid at her former workplace and she responded seven pounds, “so, he said they will add one to be eight pounds and I said OK. He added that the governor will give me accommodation and a vehicle will be stationed to convey me to the Flagstaff House and from the Flagstaff House to my home.”
Emma Florence Yaa Adinyira Amedahe said Lady Listowel was someone with a free spirit who can sleep everywhere. She did not boast about being a very classic woman.
Meeting with the Nkrumah’s
When Lord Listowel was exiting Ghana to the UK, he told her [Emma Florence Yaa Adinyira Amedahe] that, he wants to introduce her to the then Prime Minister of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
She said, due to her hard work, Lord Listowel wanted to take her along to the UK but her grandfather opposed it so the best thing he [Lord Listowel] could do for her is to let her work with Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
“We went to the Castle, where the Prime Minister was living at the time with his family. When we went, he called me and introduced me to them that this girl Emma [is very hardworking]. He is going and wanted to take me along but my grandfather did not like the idea, so, he brought me back.
“He does not want to leave me as an orphan, so, he brought me to them to take me as their own daughter and take care of me. He told them I am a good and humble girl and Osagyefo was nodding his head.
“Osagyefo asked whether I have agreed to stay with them and I responded affirmatively. He, then, asked if I have taken my annual leave but I said no then he instructed that I take my annual leave and when I resume, I should report to the Flagstaff House,” Emma Florence Yaa Adinyira Amedahe said.
She said, she went on leave for a month and when she returned from leave, “Madam [Fathia Nkrumah] took me to the children’s room the first day I reported for work, she hadn’t assigned me to anything yet… I bought storybooks for their two children, Gamal and Samia. By then, they had a nurse who was catering for the children. After one month, Fathia asked me to be in charge of her room, that’s cleaning. She started drawing me closer to herself. When her hairstylist came, she would call me to help him. Her hairstylist was a man by the name of Joseph.
“One day, Joseph finished styling her hair, but madam didn’t like it, she undid everything and later asked me to do it. She appreciated what I did and asked Joseph not to do her hair again because she liked it when I did it for her. She later asked Joseph to train me, he trained me for three months.”
“We used to talk, she even told me how her husband was treating her. I went to Egypt with her so I know a lot of her family members. Fathia saw me as a sister, and I was also like her sister…,” Emma Florence Yaa Adinyira Amedahe said.