Enock never imagined the woman he chatted with for two years on Facebook, sending heart emojis and promises of love, would turn out to be his own blood.

But that’s exactly what happened when she died from complications of an unsafe abortion, a secret he pressured her into, and a family curse that nearly swallowed him whole.

The 28-year-old Ghanaian, speaking through tears on Pastor Prince Elisha Osei’s Secret TV YouTube channel, confessed he connected with the woman, a UK resident, purely for her money.

“I didn’t know she was my cousin when we met on Facebook,” Enock said, hiding his face from the view of the camera. “All I knew was that she lived abroad and because of that, I had bad intentions. I planned to spend her money, so I lied to her about loving her.”

Their virtual flirtation turned real when she flew to Ghana and stayed with him for three months. She got pregnant. Enock, already in a relationship with a local woman, panicked.

“My girlfriend here told me to make her abort it since I wasn’t in love with her,” he admitted.

He convinced the woman to end the pregnancy at an unregulated clinic, never revealing his double life.

Weeks later, she fell gravely ill. Her mother rushed from the UK to nurse her in a Ghanaian hospital, but it was too late. The woman died, her family shattered and unaware of Enock’s role. When Enock visited their extended family home—drawn by a nagging guilt—he saw her photo on the mourning wall. Asking about her, he learned the unthinkable: she was his cousin.

“I couldn’t say anything. I couldn’t confess,” Enock recalled, his voice breaking.

The family, in their grief, cursed the “unknown man” who had gotten her pregnant. Enock fled, haunted, until he sought out Pastor Osei for spiritual cleansing.

This story, which has been gaining traction in Ghana, isn’t just a cautionary tale of online deception; it’s a gut-wrenching reminder of how fragile family secrets can unravel lives.

In a world where Facebook bridges oceans but blurs bloodlines, Enock’s regret humanizes the fallout from exploitation and denial.

For Ghanaians in the diaspora, this tragic story hits harder, reminding us about the need to interrogate the background of our virtual romantic partners.

Unsafe abortions, meanwhile, claim too many young lives, and Enock’s story screams for better access and less shame.

Joel Bervell, the Ghanaian-American medical student who has emerged as one of the most influential voices on racial bias in healthcare, has earned a new global recognition — a place on the Forbes Under 30 All-Star Alumni List.

The recognition marks yet another milestone in a meteoric rise shaped by advocacy, data-driven storytelling, and an insistence on equity in medicine.

Bervell announced the honour in an emotional Facebook post, where he admitted the news caught him by surprise.

“Absolutely wasn’t expecting this one,” he wrote. “Grateful beyond words. And beyond thankful for this entire community. More educational content to come!”

Forbes describes the fourth-year medical student — widely known online as the “Medical Mythbuster” — as a creator who uses social media to educate over one million followers about racial disparities in medicine, breaking down clinical myths, exposing bias in diagnostic tools, and translating scientific literature into accessible public knowledge.

A powerful voice reshaping modern medical education

At just 26, Bervell’s impact stretches far beyond social media. In 2023 alone, he became a TED Fellow, earned a TikTok Changemaker Award, and was featured among Seattle’s Forbes 30 Under 30. That same year, he was named to the UN-recognised Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) list for health and wellness.

Major U.S. media networks — including Good Morning America and the Today Show — have hosted him for discussions on racial inequities in clinical practice. Scientific American has described him as “a revolutionary,” and his published works have appeared in top journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, NPR, the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, and the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Bervell’s academic trajectory reflects the same intensity that fuels his advocacy: a Yale University bachelor’s degree, a master’s from Boston University, and ongoing medical training at Washington State University.

A win shared across Ghanaian and African communities

For many young Africans and members of the diaspora, Bervell has become a powerful model of what medical education can look like when paired with activism. His work has helped draw international attention to disparities long known to communities but often overlooked in mainstream clinical research.

His latest recognition by Forbes — one of the most influential global business and culture platforms — broadens that spotlight.

For Ghana, where healthcare equity remains an urgent national conversation, Bervell’s rise offers a reminder of the global reach of Ghanaian talent and the transformative role of diaspora voices in scientific advocacy.

More educational content to come

Bervell’s promise to keep educating is not just a personal note to followers — it’s a continuation of work that has reshaped how millions consume medical information. As misinformation spreads rapidly online, his ability to merge scientific accuracy with engaging storytelling has placed him at the centre of a growing movement for public health literacy.

And for the Ghanaian-American community that proudly claims him, his latest accolade signals something even larger: a young doctor-in-training who is not only breaking myths — but breaking ceilings.

A group of Ghanaian government-sponsored PhD students in the United Kingdom has issued an extraordinary appeal to British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

The students are pleading for diplomatic intervention as a four-year funding crisis leaves them battling deportation, eviction, and academic collapse.

In a petition dated December 3, 2025, the students said they have been abandoned by the Ghana Scholarships Secretariat (GSS), which owes some scholars up to 48 months in unpaid stipends and has failed to settle tuition obligations for the current academic year. Thirty doctoral students, according to the document, have had none of their 2024/2025 fees paid.

The consequences have been devastating.

More than 15 PhD candidates have already been withdrawn from their programmes, their fees transferred onto their personal accounts and forwarded to the UK Home Office, a situation that has triggered deportation orders for multiple students. Others are facing court action over unpaid accommodation bills.

“The situation is so severe that some colleagues are now facing court cases over unpaid rent,” the student executives wrote. “To survive, some have had to depend on food banks because they have no money to feed themselves.”

The students say they need an urgent cash injection of £3.6 million (GH¢54 million) just to clear the outstanding tuition and stipend arrears for PhD candidates alone. And the crisis extends beyond doctoral programmes; Ghanaian undergraduates and master’s students on the same scheme have also been caught in the funding freeze.

Diplomatic Pleas, Silent Institutions

The petition describes months of failed attempts to engage Ghanaian authorities. Students say they have approached the Ghana High Commission in London, the Scholarships Secretariat, and the Ministry of Education — all without results. Earlier media coverage, including a report by MyJoyOnline, has not shifted the stalemate.

With options exhausted and lives in disarray, the scholars are now turning to the British government in hope of a diplomatic breakthrough. They are appealing to PM Starmer to intervene directly with Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, arguing that the matter has become a humanitarian crisis requiring urgent state-to-state engagement.

For many, the dream of earning a PhD abroad has morphed into a nightmare — one marked by mounting debt, immigration threats, and the emotional strain of survival in one of the world’s most expensive countries.

The petition ends with a stark warning: without immediate intervention, dozens more Ghanaian scholars risk losing their academic futures — not because of academic failure, but because their own government stopped paying.