Amponsah’s art in highlighting life’s struggles

Author Anthea Amponsah is on a mission to inspire the less fortunate in society and encourage them to push beyond the limits of their social status to achieve success.

She also wants her work to shed light on the triumphs disadvantaged people have to overcome in order to reach their goals.

During a recent book launch at the St Bartholomew Church Hall, Christ Church, the debut author spoke about an encounter she had with a Guyanese Amerindian who wanted to make a mark in his country and how the lack of resources posed a significant threat to his dream.

She said his story touched her and she wanted to let the world know that success did not come easy for those with a poor upbringing.

“This book is an account of a true life story of an Amerindian boy Levi Holmes, who wanted to be a musician. I wrote it because, in today’s world, we think that everything was given to us on a silver platter when, in fact, many Caribbean people still go through hardship, even though we have the notion that slavery has been long abolished and all are now equal,” she said. 

She added: “At breakfast with Levi Holmes one morning, I felt his pain as he briefly told me about his life experiences, living in the remote area of Guyana. At the time that this story unfolded – which started from the late 80’s until present – life was a constant struggle in Guyana, especially in the remote regions, and life continues to be a struggle. Many have little or no education and rely on their survival skills to make a living from the land, and by the skills of their hands, whether it be through farming, mining, craft  or any other instance of ‘sweat of thy  brow, or labour of thy hands’. This aroused my interest.”

Amponsah said she wrote the book to help boost Holmes’ career and hopefully, she said, it would also assist him in producing his own album.

“When people read this book I am hoping that they would get a deeper appreciation and respect for the uneducated and underprivileged. Once given a chance, they can reach their God-given destiny in life.”

During the launch, a number of those in attendance became emotional when
Holmes, who visited Barbados for this ceremony, talked about his life and the struggles he went through.

Amponsah also said it was an overwhelming experience for her as well to hear him speak of the impact she had in his life through her work. (SZB)