Tusculum College student is speaker at national conference for Operation Christmas Child

Kojo Abakah was 12-years-old and living in the West African country of Ghana when he received a shoebox from Operation Christmas Child.

Today, Abakah is a student at Tusculum College preparing for a career in pharmacy, and now puts together those shoeboxes that have the power to change lives. Abakah works with Tusculum Baptist Church in putting shoeboxes together and preparing them for delivery so he can spread God’s love to other children. Additionally, he has become a spokesperson for the organization, now traveling to their national conferences letting volunteers know that the work they do does have an impact.

Kojo Abakah

“I remember receiving the box from missionaries,” said Abakah. “I came to know the Lord after receiving the box. They taught us Jesus loves you because the Bible tells us so. And after their message, they gave us each our own box.

“As soon as I got my box, I took my books and my bag, and I just left to home. I ran home. When I got home, I showed it to my family, and we opened it. To my amazement, I had a yo-yo, a toy car, pencils. I was so grateful. And when I rolled my yo-yo, I remembered, Jesus loves me, because the Bible tells me so. I learned to pray, read the Bible and spent a lot of time in church after that.”

This week Abakah travels to Washington D.C. as a speaker at the Operation Christmas Child regional conference.  This will be his second appearance, having spoken to volunteers in Kansas City in early March.  He will also travel to the San Francisco and Atlanta meetings. So far it has been a solo experience, but he is looking forward to the San Francisco trip, during which he will have a traveling companion.

“Mama Jones” will accompany Abakah on this trip. Debra Jones met Abakah through Tusculum Baptist Church as has been his mother away from home, even having Abakah stay with her during the summer months when he is not in school and cannot return to Africa.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to see places I might not have ever seen,” said Abakah. “I am truly blessed.” These speeches give him the opportunity to share his stories with thousands of volunteers, so that they can hear what a difference just one shoebox can make.

And, while he admits to some pre-speech nerves as he prepares to address groups of more than 600, he credits Tusculum with preparing him as a speaker, and he credits God with getting him to Tusculum.

“God’s plan is not always our plan,” when asked how he ended up at Tusculum College. “It is by learning to listen to God that I found Tusculum College.

“ I always wanted to study in the U.S, but for a young man in Ghana, attending school in the United States is expensive and a difficult process. I used the Internet to find a list of colleges and universities in the U.S. I was going through them, state by state, looking at every one when I understood the message. I knew I was mean to apply to a school I had never heard of before. I continued my search, but I knew when I saw the name Tusculum, it was God’s direction. No one in my family ever got such an opportunity, and it has been the right place for me. Unlike school in Ghana, the teachers have time for you, and you get the attention of the teacher. Everything is different.”

Abakah plans on finishing his undergraduate degree at Tusculum and then attending graduate school in pharmacy. He then wishes to return to Africa, where health care professionals are desperately needed.