I am Eugene Kem
Early Life
Eugene was born in Agbakope, a small town in the Volta Region of Ghana. He started his early childhood education in Afife and later moved to Akatsi, both in the Volta region when he was just eight, with his older brother, Selorm. His parents, Sylvester and Agnes, were highly focused on building their careers and had to raise their children in a distant yet, strictly monitoring them through a rigid reward and punishment routine. In spite of this, Eugene excelled in his primary education. He spent his weekends with his mother and the extended family in Agbakope and mostly hitched the 5 am Accra-Aflao Trotros back to school on Monday mornings with his elder brother. When he was nine, their family welcomed a new member, Enam.
Education
Between 1997 and 2004, Eugene attended Wisdom Preparatory School in Akatsi, where he excelled in academics and participated in many social activities. He was among the top 10 graduating pupils in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in Akatsi District that year. He attended Keta Senior High School between 2004 to 2007 where he studied General Science, then proceeded to Ho Nurses’ Training College, where he earned a professional practice license as a Registered General Nurse in 2011.
In 2012, he was awarded the Indian Council for Cultural Relations scholarship to study for a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Psychology at Delhi University. During his time in India, Eugene interned with the SPYM Juvenile Drug De-Addiction Cum Rehabilitation Centre and the Delhi Psychiatric Centre (Cosmos Institute of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences – CIMBS), where he gained valuable experience in managing addiction as a social problem and helping patients and their families cope with mental illness.
While studying for his bachelor’s degree, he took a short study program in the Institute of UN Studies where he earned a Corresponding Diploma in United Nations and International Understanding in June 2014. Eugene acquired a Master of Science degree in Clinical Psychology and Mental Health from Swansea University in Wales, UK, under the prestigious Chevening scholarship scheme in 2020, among 22 others selected from about 2000 applicants during the COVID pandemic.
Work Life
Immediately after acquiring a license to practice as an RN in 2011, Eugene joined the erstwhile Volta Regional Hospital, now Ho Teaching Hospital as an intern for 8 months before leaving Ghana on a scholarship to study.
On returning to Ghana in 2015, Eugene started a weekly networking event in Accra and later co-founded CLITH, a non-profit organisation dedicated to bridging the gap in Public Health delivery in Ghana to catalyse and consolidate gains in the sustainable development goals. With CLITH, Eugene and his team have provided healthcare and civic education through rural outreaches and mobile clinics, to more than 300,000 people and several scores of rural communities in Ghana and Burkina Faso. They screen and create awareness on HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, Breast Cancer, Vitiligo, and Communicable and non-communicable diseases, and also vaccinate, treat and refer clients with alarming forms of hypertension, diabetes, hepatitis, eye defects and many more to appropriate institutions for care. Under his leadership, CLITH has since 2018 secured partnerships that executed Menstrual Hygiene tours and distributed over 10,000 sanitary pads to young girls across rural Ghana and donated 150 wheelchairs and several medical consumables to 26 hospitals, clinics, and health centres in Ghana.
Eugene joined the Emergency Room of Richard Novati Catholic Hospital in Sogakope in March 2017 as an RN where he performed his duties diligently, transforming uncultured situations and promoting a healthy work environment. Recognizing his endearing qualities, he was appointed in 2019 to serve as the facility’s Focal Person for Quality Improvement Initiatives, to ensure standards are maintained toward effective care delivery in the facility. He served on the facility’s Screening Committee and concurrently advocated for the separation of the OPD from the Emergency Room and became the first-ever Triage officer and Out-Patient Department Manager of the facility in June 2019. Working in these roles together, he built a system to ensure patients’ waiting time in the hospital was reduced from more than 2 hours to only 47 minutes when they have no investigations to run. He was an avid leader in his facility’s screening and contact tracing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Post-COVID, he reintegrated into the Emergency Unit in 2022 as a Psychologists and RN, supporting the core staff in emergency preparedness, critical training, and daily assessment, triage and care of patients
