‘Single motherhood not doomsday’ – Ghanaian mum who graduated from medical school together with daughter
Dr Cynthia Kudji, 49 years and her daughter, Jasmine, went viral after they both graduated from medical school in the US on the same day.
Domiciled in the US, Cynthia Kudji spoke to theghanareport.com and shared exclusive photos capturing her journey to raising a daughter single-handedly and pursuing a career path together.
“It’s not doomsday. It is not the end of the world,” she said and walked theghanareport.com on the day she decided to become a single mother.
To start with, she dismissed conservative concerns about being a single mother. Back then, her partner was a painter.
When 22-year-old Cynthia found out she was pregnant, she also found out that her partner was having an affair “outside of the relationship”. Cynthia and Jasmine’s father were engaged to marry. However, they had to go separate ways.
“That is why we were no longer together,” she said.
“A lot of people think because you are a single mother, you have no choices, and your life is over, but you cannot allow someone else to dictate your success. You can’t allow someone to set your limitations for you,” she told theghanareport.com.
“You have to get out there; you have to work, you have to be willing to sacrifice and do whatever you can do to make it. You can be successful, and all your dreams can come true”.
And so after giving birth to Jasmine, Cynthia took up courses in nursing and became a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) while combining motherhood duties.
It would help her earn a stable income, good enough to take care of baby Jasmine.
She would rise to become a Registered Nurse (RN) and later worked as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP).
As she rose, she put Jasmine through school and waited 10 years until she enrolled for her medical studies.
It would appear easier for her to sit back and push Jasmine. But no. They would push together.
While Cynthia studied at the University of Medicine and Health Sciences (UMHS) in St. Kitts and Maine, her daughter, Jasmine, went to the LSU School of Medicine.
Cynthia would even go a step further than her daughter, enrolling for a Master’s of Science in Health Administration and a Master’s of Science in Leadership at Walden University.
With two Master’s degree, a nursing degree, she also graduated as a medical doctor along with her daughter.
The two would begin their medical careers at the Louisiana State University (LSU) Health in Louisiana, starting July 1, 2020. Cynthia will be in family medicine while Jasmine’s career will be in general surgery.
The two are heading to Louisiana, where they will be closer to Cynthia’s parents who relocated from Ghana to settle in the U.S. when Cynthia was just two.
‘My father sold his house in Ghana to put me through school in US’
Cynthia’s father, who hails from Lolobi in the Volta Region is 80 years and her mother, from Kenyasi in the Ashanti Region, is 72.
Cynthia attributes her success to family support as she recalls her dad using his home as security for a loan “to get me through the last semester of college”.
“When you have the family support, that is tremendous, and that is pretty much what Jasmine and I had,” Cynthia acknowledged.
An absent father trying to make amends
Cynthia looks back at her decision to go single and her ex-lover’s infidelity and finds she holds no grudges against him.
“Everybody makes their mistakes, and everybody makes their decisions based on whatever is going on in their lives. It was a decision that he made and decided to do so,” the big-hearted achiever said.
“You live with those decisions, but even now he regrets it, he regrets that decision. He has reached out and really come full circle trying to make amends. So I speak with him from time to time, he checks up on Jasmine from time to time”.
Jasmine said her mother has been a great coach who has shaped her life. With a “100% influence, from a very young age,” Cynthia has encouraged, supported and trained Jasmine to know that she can succeed no matter the circumstance.
Jasmine credits her relentless mother for the strides that have landed her in surgery.
As brilliant and ambitious as her mother, Jasmine also has a few feats under her belt too. She was able to complete her first degree within three years as against the traditional four-year programme.
Is success based on geographical location?
While Cynthia and Jasmine’s story remains inspirational, some would feel it was possible because she lived in the US, a country believed to be a land of opportunities.
For Dr Cynthia Kudji, living in Ghana or the U.S. makes little difference as opportunities abound for single mothers to succeed no matter their location on the planet.
“As long as you have the heart to persevere, as long as there is family support. I think you can make it. I don’t think geography has anything to do with it. Whatever situation we have, we do our best with it”.
However, she admitted that her journey would have been much more difficult if she were to be in Ghana.
“It is tough…I would probably say tougher in Ghana to pull this feat, but it is not impossible. With Christ, all things are possible,” the woman religious woman noted.
Dr. Cynthia Kudji finds love again
More than 22 years after moving on from her previous relationship, Cynthia Kudji says she has found love again.
The single mother re-married on June 10, 2019, to a single father of two – a 20-year-old in the military academy and one girl who is a fresh college graduate.
This is inspirational, it means that hardwork and determination pays. “There’s no journey that a man cannot make if he sets his eyes upon it”. Well done.