“Wife at 45. Mother at 47. Here's What Every Woman Should Know About Waiting Well.”
Instagram @oheneyere_gifty_anti
It’s hard not to compare Oheneyere Gifty Anti, the female television host of one of Ghana’s most-watched shows, with the infamous talk-show host Oprah Winfrey. The similarities are endless. Known affectionately as Gifty Anti, she was born into poverty, raised by her father, and later became a journalist and on-air host with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC). She then launched her own show, The Standpoint, on GTV to discuss issues affecting women. I had the opportunity to sit down with her in Accra, Ghana, in 2018 to learn more about her life and story. Now, eight years later, we are resharing her story to encourage women to believe God with crazy faith for the miracle.
“I was the one they used to call the pension baby because I was born to my father in his old age,” said Gifty Anti. “When I was born, I was told I was named Nancy, but then my father said, ‘No, I am too generous,’ so he changed my name to Gifty, meaning ‘gift of God.’ I was the last of eight children, born in the Eastern region of Ghana, but I grew up in Tema.”
Growing up in Tema wasn't easy for Gifty Anti, but she had a loving father and wanted to make him proud. She stayed the course and worked hard to prove herself despite the obstacles. She attended primary and middle school at government schools before working for seven years at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC). Gifty Anti then went to London to pursue her master’s degree in International Journalism before returning to Ghana.
“I was single, I didn’t have a child, and didn’t have any responsibilities,” she said. “Why not work hard with all my heart and build a reputation. Now, all those years of working hard and building a reputation, that is what has brought me this far.”
In 2008, Gifty Anti launched her own television program, the Standpoint TV show, which served as a platform to discuss social, political, cultural, traditional, health, and leadership issues affecting women, including female genital mutilation, widowhood rights, and breast cancer. Her warm and engaging personality captivated national audiences, making the Standpoint one of the most-watched programs in Ghana. As her fame and success grew, so did the expectations that she would marry and have children.
“So from the age of 22, when you are expected to get married, up to the age of 45, I was on TV, I was doing my own thing, being called names because I was single,” said Gifty Anti. “I was being an achiever. I mean, I was 38 when I started the Standpoint, so for seven years I was talking on a women’s program, advising, encouraging, and motivating, but I wasn’t married and didn’t have a child. Many years ago, about 15 years ago, a newspaper interviewed me, and I told them that I wasn’t looking for marriage, I am on the move and getting on with my work. If marriage catches up with me, then that is fine.”
But that wasn’t God’s plan for Gifty Anti. On the fourth anniversary of her TV program, she was on a promotional visit to a local station when she caught the eye of a station manager, Nana Ansah Kwao, who had recently moved to Ghana from London. Although he knew who Gifty Anti was, he didn’t immediately recognize her as the woman standing in front of him. “The first thing he said to me when he met me was, ‘You look prettier in person than on TV,’” said Gifty Anti. “That was his pick-up line. If I had been sitting at home, I wouldn’t have met him. When we started going out, some of his friends said to him, ‘Are you sure you can date this woman? Do you know who she is?”
They dated for three years, and by then, Gifty Anti was 45 years old when she married for the first time. Two years later, at 47, she had her first child. Despite being told by doctors that she would never be able to carry a baby after going in for a routine examination, she continued to pursue her dream. After three different doctors told her that she couldn’t bear children, Gifty Anti tried IVF four times, but it didn’t happen. However, God had another plan.
After meeting a fertility doctor through her TV show, she consulted with him about her painful fibroids and menstrual cramps. After taking a look at it, he told her the fibroid was on her hip, which was causing the problem. He recommended surgery to remove it, and they performed the surgery. Then he told her that her womb was fine and that she would be able to carry a baby after treatment.
One day, while going through treatment, Gifty Anti came down with a bad case of the flu. But when she called her doctor, he told her to come in for a checkup. She told him no because her annual conference, Gathering of Daughters, was that day, so I told him I couldn’t come. That day, she danced and praised the Lord at the Gathering of Daughters, and the next day, when she went to see the doctor, he told her she was pregnant.
Gifty Anti gave birth to a baby girl naturally at age 47 and named her Nyame Animuonyam, which means “for the glory of God.”
Instagram @oheneyere_gifty_anti
“The number of women whose hope has been rekindled, who say God is faithful, who know that God did it for me,” said Gifty Anti. “There’s a young lady who is pregnant now who said when she heard that I had given birth, she said Lord, if you did it for Auntie Gifty, you can do it for me. Now she’s pregnant. When you avail yourself to God and give Him your all, it doesn’t mean you don’t have issues. But when you open your heart, reach out to people, and follow your ministry, God has a way of taking care of you.”
“Once you have faith in God – I call myself a woman with super crazy faith in God – because I have seen God do it over and over and over again. The fact that it didn’t happen for somebody else doesn’t mean it won’t happen for you. No one knows your destiny. So don’t look at anybody else; just work with what God has given you. Do God’s business, and He will do your business. Do your best and surrender the rest to God. I am so sure that I have a daughter now because of the sacrifices I have made for other people’s children.”
Her husband, in addition to being a station manager, is also the chief of a local village. Gifty Anti spends her time supporting villagers with timely resources, including organizing shoe donations for other children's projects. My role as the wife of a chief is not easy. I organize shoe donations and many other projects for the kids in the village. If I weren’t doing what I do, my husband wouldn’t benefit from being married to “the Gifty Anti.” If you don’t have anything to offer, how can you be a helpmate? If you don’t have anything to offer, what can you do?
Gifty Anti has also built a legacy of service through her nonprofit, Girls In Need Foundation. After generously supporting family members and friends over time, the need grew so great that Gifty Anti decided to raise funds to provide greater support for those in need. She set a goal to raise over 1 million cedis from Ghana’s population of more than 26 million to send young girls to school so they could make better choices for the future.
“Like David, I always encouraged myself, especially after my dad died. He was my everything,” said Gifty Anti. “My mom is gone as well, and I am now an orphan, but what I have is a voice. It’s the talent God has given me, and I’m not letting anybody take it away from me. Somehow, I convinced myself that if I die today and go to heaven, and God asks me, ‘What did you do with what I gave you? The opportunities and doors I opened for you?’ What am I going to say? Oh, Lord, because you didn’t give me a husband or a child, so I didn’t work? I consistently told myself that I need to have something to give an account for. There is more to life than just struggling and then perishing. You have to win somehow. So I kept going and doing my best, helping and encouraging people, working hard, and telling people’s stories, and that I have a voice and a platform. The little I have, I share.”
The Power of Storytelling:
Here are four quotes from Gifty Anti about the power of sharing your story.
“Just remember that everything we go through is not just for us but for the benefit of others. It’s for the generations yet to come. So that one day someone will come to you and tell you how she is struggling because she is not married, and then you can say, "Here is my story." It wasn’t easy either, but I kept the faith and didn't give up. Every good motivational speaker has a story.”
“We go through these things so that God can be glorified. God created women to be a helpmate, and if men could do it all, we would not be here. We were there from the beginning because we have a function and a role to play.”
“My superpower is my faith in God. I have friends my age who are grandparents, and I had a child at 47. But the glory it has brought to God and the number of people whose faith has been rekindled because of my testimony – that is all I have ever wanted in life, that my life would be a testimony. So I talk about myself and tell my story freely. The Bible says, “They overcame by the power of their testimony.” In all things, give thanks to God because praise and worship do amazing things.”
“Sometimes we are so down that we think we can’t praise, but in the midst of our tears, we give praise to God. And it just works miracles. If only we could understand God's timing, the waiting period would not be so hard. It’s tough, and it’s okay to ask God questions like “What is this?” “What does this mean?” but keep holding on.”