Her aggressive and often-confrontational approach to matters relative to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) makes it easy for one to assume that Dr Louisa Hannah Bissiw, the National Women’s Organizer of NDC, grew up in a setting of chaos and frenzy.
Watching her get emotional as she shared her story will, however, make one erase that perception of her and see her as a woman who despite her early struggles, fought hard to be where she is today.
Dr Hannah Bissiw has a heartwrenching story that will bring one to tears when you watch or listen to her talk about the abuses she suffered in childhood.
Hannah Bissiw says she grew up staying with an auntie who subjected her to all kinds of mistreatment including making her eat fufu with liquid from a sore on her ankle.
“I remember having lice in my hair with sores and they will shave me sakora. One day, I was so sick I couldn’t climb the hill with the firewood to go home and prepare the things for the food. After that, I will go out and hawk stuff.
“I couldn’t get home so I fell asleep and what woke me up was lashes from my mother’s sister. I remember getting up and running away. I didn’t eat that evening. When I was contesting for the first time in Tano South, I was reminded of how I used to walk around without panties.
“I used to walk barefoot and I remember any time I was eating fufu and I ran out of soup, I was made to pour water on it and add salt. At one point, I had a sore on my ankle. You know blood flow on the ankle is not rich so when you have a sore there and it is not handled well it will be infected.
“It was infected and I was asked to squeeze it. I was forced to put the fufu in the liquid from the sore and sallow. I think she was just mean”, she said on GTV on December 21, 2022.
Hannah Bissiw said that she saw education as the escape route and therefore took her lessons seriously.
As life turned out, she is in her second term as National Women’s Organizer of the NDC. She was re-elected by the women’s wing of the party on December 10, 2022.
Hannah Bissiw is a Cuban-trained veterinary officer who has in the last few years dedicated her time to serving the NDC as National Women’s Organizer. She is also one-term MP for the Tano South constituency.
