Three women from Ghana who once faced the prospect of dropping out of secondary school because of poverty are set to graduate with master’s degrees from the University of Cambridge this week.

Francisca Arhinful, 25, Fadila Issah, 26, and Jemimah Mensah, 29, will receive MPhil degrees in Education from Cambridge’s Faculty of Education, supported by Camfed, a UK-registered education charity founded in Cambridge and Zimbabwe, with funding from the Mastercard Foundation Scholars’ Program.

From Northern Ghana to Cambridge

Issah, the first person from her north Ghanaian community to attend Cambridge, grew up in Savelugu—a region with one of Ghana’s lowest female school completion rates. Her family could barely afford food, but her father was determined to send her to school until an accident left him unable to work.

She took on two jobs to stay in school, and her efforts were noticed by a Camfed teacher-mentor who stepped in to cover the costs of fees, books, and clothing.

“I felt like I was dreaming. I could stop working and dedicate my time to study,” Issah told the BBC.

Journeys Through Adversity

Arhinful, from the Ajumako District in Ghana’s central region, faced a different challenge. When her family could not afford high school, they arranged for her to be “adopted” by an aunt who could sponsor her education. Instead, Camfed offered her a scholarship, connecting her to a network of young women from similar backgrounds known as the Camfed Association.

“It really improved my self-esteem and encouraged me to keep going,” she said.

Mensah, 29, dropped out of school at age 14 to help her mother run the family’s only source of income—a catering business.

“I dreamed of going back [to education], but I didn’t know when it would happen,” she said. “For people like me, that was normal.”

She resumed her studies when a free high school opened nearby.

A Broader Challenge

The women’s stories reflect a wider crisis in African education. According to UNESCO data, four out of every 10 girls in Africa, and less than one tenth of the poorest children, complete secondary school.

Paying It Forward

The three women have trained as Camfed learner guides—peer mentors who deliver a life skills and wellbeing curriculum to girls and boys, to help marginalized girls in particular stay in school.

Mensah, based at Homerton College during her studies, expressed hope for other first-generation students:

“Cambridge has challenged me and strengthened my belief in education equity, and Homerton became a home that held me up every step of the way. To every first-generation student: keep going, keep becoming, and never doubt that you belong in every space that is meant for your growth and becoming.”

The learner guide program, delivered using the “My Better World” curriculum, provides holistic mentoring to students in under-resourced communities. Since its inception, the program has trained over 2,200 learner guides who have reached more than 68,000 learners across Ghana, with an estimated 35,000 girls receiving direct mentorship.

Issah said she hoped to “help girls in similar situations realize their dreams.”

The founder of PYNK Wellness challenges Africans in the diaspora to shift their perspective, from seeing the continent as a vacation destination to viewing it as a land of opportunity waiting to be built.

For many in the diaspora, Africa is a place of nostalgia, a destination for holidays, family reunions, and familiar flavors. But according to entrepreneur Princess Ami, it is time for that narrative to change.

In a candid video statement shared across her platforms, the Senegalese-born creator and founder of PYNK Wellness (@pynk.sn) delivered an impassioned message to her fellow first-generation Africans: stop seeing the continent as a place to visit, and start seeing it as a place to build.

“If you are first-generation African but you live in the Western world like the U.S. or Europe, come to the front,” Ami urged. “At some point, we have to stop seeing Africa as only a vacation destination, a family obligation, or some place we go to just eat good food and take pictures.”

A Shift in Perspective

Ami’s transformation began when she moved to Senegal. Living there, she said, changed everything.

“Living in Senegal honestly really changed me because I stopped seeing Africa from the outside. I stopped seeing the gaps and started to actually see the possibilities.”

She described the realization that home is not merely where one grows up or what one is accustomed to, it is where one can walk freely without being treated as an intruder, where cultural identity is not a liability, and where opportunity is genuinely available for those willing to seize it.

“Home is where opportunity is actually for us—but only if we seize it,” she said. “Real opportunity. Problems that need solutions. Markets that are still being built. Consumers who are smart and loyal but somehow still deeply underserved. Young people who deserve better infrastructure so they can actually have career opportunities. Communities that deserve brands and companies that build with systems that keep them in mind.”

The Birth of PYNK Wellness

This newfound perspective gave rise to PYNK Wellness, a brand Ami created to address a gap she observed firsthand: the silent struggle of African women navigating wellness without adequate access to products, education, or brands that speak to them with dignity and intentionality.

“I believe that African women deserve wellness brands that are intentional, informed, and actually built for us,” she stated.

But Ami was quick to clarify that her message extends far beyond her own venture.

“This is bigger than PYNK, and it’s not even about PYNK right now. This is about a generation of Africans—honestly, I think two generations of Africans within the diaspora—that have access to education, networks, capital, technology, and most importantly, a global perspective.”

A Call to Builders, Not Saviors

Ami’s vision is starkly grounded: Africa does not need pity, and it does not need saviors.

“Trust me—our people are strong. They don’t need saving,” she asserted. “But to build? To partner? To create jobs? To solve major problems? That is where we come in.”

She challenged diaspora Africans to approach their next visit home with fresh eyes:

“Next time you visit home, I want you to visit differently. Look for what is missing. Look for what people complain about every day. Look for where your skills can fill in the gap. Because sometimes the opportunity that you’re begging for in the West is waiting for you back home.”

A Generational Responsibility

Ami concluded her message with a sobering reflection on the sacrifices of the generation before her:

“Don’t underestimate the place that you came from. Our parents left so that we can have more. It’s our turn to build more so people do not have to keep leaving.”

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A post shared by Princess Ami🦄 (@amimeetsworld)

The Bigger Picture

Princess Ami’s message resonates at a time when conversations about the African diaspora’s role in the continent’s development are intensifying. With a growing number of young professionals, creatives, and entrepreneurs in the diaspora leveraging their global exposure and resources to invest in African markets, Ami’s call is both timely and urgent.

She envisions a future where diaspora Africans bring their creativity, education, and capital home, not to exploit or perform, but to build. To create jobs. To solve problems. To serve communities that have long been underserved.

“Imagine if a fraction of us brought our creativity, our education, and our capital back home,” she said. “Africa does not need pity. Africa needs builders that actually care about Africa. And that’s us.”

About Princess Ami: Princess Ami is an entrepreneur and creator of PYNK Wellness, a brand focused on providing intentional wellness solutions for African women. A proud Senegalese diaspora member, she lives between the U.S. and Senegal, championing the narrative of building and investing in the continent’s future.

Follow Princess Ami and PYNK Wellness: @pynk.sn

A pregnant woman from Ghana and her 4-year-old son have been detained for more than a week at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., after arriving on a valid tourist visa to seek medical treatment for the child, according to a habeas petition filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Anabella Gyasi, 38, landed at Dulles on May 19, 2026, with her son, intending to bring him to a children’s hospital in Ohio for a pre-operation appointment. The boy, who first visited the United States in 2024 at age two to see a specialist for physical abnormalities affecting both of his hands, was deemed too young for corrective surgery at that time. Earlier this month, Gyasi scheduled a follow-up appointment and traveled using the same valid tourist visa she had previously used.

Upon arrival, Gyasi and her son were questioned by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) about the purpose of their trip. According to the habeas petition, Gyasi disclosed a fear of returning to Ghana based on persecution she and her son had faced. They were subsequently taken into custody and have remained detained ever since.

The ACLU filed a habeas petition on Tuesday, alleging that Gyasi and her son are being held “despite long-standing regulations and policies requiring that certain at-risk individuals, such as pregnant women and children, be released.”

The petition also cites a court settlement mandating that children be transferred out of detention within 72 hours.

“Converted prison cells”: Conditions inside Dulles detention

According to the ACLU, Gyasi and her son are being held in a room at the airport “that has a single bed, a toilet, a sink, and no windows. They are kept locked in their room for 24 hours a day.”

The petition states that CBP recently instituted a policy requiring the physical custody of all asylum-seeking individuals entering the country at ports of entry, a policy the ACLU argues violates long-standing practices.

“CBP does not maintain immigration detention facilities equipped to safely care for people long-term,” the petition reads. “Instead, pursuant to this policy, CBP has converted nonpublic commercial rooms within airports into prison cells. These ‘hold rooms’ are equipped with nothing more than a toilet, a sink, and a bed, with no on-site medical services.”

Gyasi has been transported to a hospital twice during her detention.

“Doctors there diagnosed her with complications due to the high stress she was experiencing, gave her medication to stop the bleeding, and prescribed blood pressure medication,” her lawyers said in court documents.

According to the ACLU, Gyasi became concerned for the health of her son and her unborn child “given their constant hunger” and was allegedly prevented from purchasing food for her son. Out of desperation, she signed a deportation order, though the ACLU says she does not wish to relinquish her asylum claims and only agreed to be deported due to fear for her child’s health.

Government denies allegations, judge orders hearing

A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official confirmed that Gyasi remains in CBP custody at Dulles and “will remain in custody pending her immigration hearing.” A DHS spokesperson called the allegations regarding the holding room conditions and food access “false,” stating:

“Everyone in CBP custody, including this individual, has access to appropriate care, including medical evaluation by a doctor, medication, and food.”

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema ordered the government to show a legal basis for the continued detention of Gyasi and her son.

“A failure to show an adequate legal basis for Petitioners’ continued detention will result in their immediate release so that they may pursue [her son’s] planned medical care,” the judge wrote.

The case has drawn renewed attention to the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown and its impact on vulnerable populations, including pregnant women and young children seeking medical care or asylum at U.S. ports of entry.