Adwoa Badoe: Storyteller extraordinaire
August 23, 2011
Adwoa Badoe is a storyteller and author of more than a dozen books, including two translated into French and one into Portuguese.
While this is impressive, Adwoa did not begin her professional career intent on being a published author. She actually trained as a physician in her home country of Ghana in West Africa. Adwoa has never lost her passion for medicine and plans to put her skills to use again some day.
Adwoa has lived in Canada for 18 years with her husband Fulé Badoe and their three children, Stephanie, Mathew and Wynne. Adwoa and her family have made Guelph their home and she describes the city as a peaceful place, perfect for raising a family. “Not too big or too small, with all the amenities of a big city,” she said. “You can find what you need in Guelph, without all the big city issues.”
Adwoa finds her life as an artist and writer very fulfilling and she has been active with the arts community, including the Guelph Guild of Storytelling, the Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival, and as a past board member of Ed Video. Adwoa is a passionate advocate of the arts with a particular interest in encouraging arts programming for children. “There’s more in us than we sometimes know and the arts are an excellent way of finding out about ourselves.”
Her advice for immigrants looking to settle in Guelph is to look at ways to improve their education so that they can have access to professional jobs. It may be challenging to go back to school after completing one’s education in one’s home country, but a few years of Canadian education will go a long way towards securing a career in Canada, she said.
Find out more about Adwoa and Fulé Badoe by visiting their website www.afroculture.com