At the tender age of 15, Zandra Yeboah is now a credit to her family, a role model to her peers, and a youngster that former Olympian Diane Modahl wants to shout from the rooftops about.
Moving to England from Ghana is no easy feat for anyone, but for then 10 year old Zandra – it was an enormous move and one that sadly brought years of bullying with it.
A year 11 pupil at Wright Robinson College, in Gorton, and a former pupil of Bowker Vale Primary School in Blackley, Zandra is a fine example of how being given a chance can turn your whole life around.
She’s a participant within the Diane Modahl Sports Foundation (DMSF), which was founded by Diane Modahl, to give young people, mainly from disadvantaged areas, access to world class coaching, coaches and mentoring, with the aim of creating champions of the future, whether they be in the arena of sport, business, culture, politics or any other.
Here Zandra tells us, in her own words, how the DMSF has changed her life for better, and she overcame her bullies with the help of DMSF:
“I’ve been involved with DMSF since September 2015. A friend suggested I join because I enjoy sport. Over the last three years a lot of my friends have been involved in DMSF and they all absolutely love it.
“When I joined DMSF I was very quiet, but Coach Andy was really kind and we had a lot of fun. I remember doing the long jump and it was awful. I fell flat on my face, head first into the sand! Then I practiced and became really quite good. I was then invited to extra training sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays and I also train on some Fridays.
“I feel more confident when I’m training with DMSF because it’s not all about winning. As long as I try that is the most important thing. I keep up my training because in the past I’ve been bullied at school and I have also experienced racism, but there’s nothing like that at DMSF – I feel supported and safe.
“When I was being bullied people would say ‘don’t listen and just keep doing what you’re doing, everything will be ok’, but it wasn’t ok. When I moved to England five years ago, I was the only black girl in the class. Some classmates used to say ‘oh you can’t speak English so you can’t play with us’, but I come from Ghana and so of course I can speak English! They used to say ‘you’re black, your skin is dirty’, it was a very difficult time for me and I had no idea how to deal with it, because in my head I felt absolutely no different to them. I remember I used to sit under a tree in the playground feeling really uncomfortable and sad and angry. Angry because before I came to England, my auntie said to me ‘you’ll enjoy England, you will be happy there’, but it was very different to what she had described. I was not happy at all.
“I didn’t let any of my family know how sad I was or that I was being bullied. I’d just cry in my bedroom every night. If I’d have had the confidence I would have told my family that I was really unhappy. There was a point when I wanted to go back to Ghana.
“How did I deal with it? At the end of my Primary school year a new girl joined our school and we became friends – she just happened to be white. We became best friends. It was just a relief to be accepted and liked for being me. She would play with me and we ended up going to the same high school, but in year 8 I joined Wright Robinson College. Things were hard at first, schoolwork was tough, but I made friends with more people, even though I still experienced some ignorance.
“I really struggled with the teachers because I would constantly get into trouble. There is a strict uniform code and I love to express myself through fashion – so I was always in trouble! I’ve had detentions for wearing earrings, lipstick, and a headband – of which all were taken away from me at school. Looking back now I understand why they thought I had a bad attitude – but inside I was just angry.
“Recently my teacher used me as an example to another pupil. He said ‘when Zandra started at this school she used to have a really bad attitude. Now she doesn’t get any detentions, and she’s a Prefect’ – that felt really good.
“I’m proud to be a Prefect. My confidence has grown so much and DMSF has helped me a lot. As a Prefect, the Head Teacher puts a lot of trust in us to help him deliver the right attitude of the school. We’re an outstanding school and he wants us to be even better. I was put forward by my Head of Year to become a Prefect and now I can see that my dad is so very proud of me.
“Before, I would never put my hand up in class because I was afraid people would laugh at me if I got the wrong answer, or make fun of me, but now I have the confidence to do it. Part of the reason for this is because of the competitions I take part in with DMSF. Even though I’m very scared and nervous, I still do them. I feel like I’ve grown and improved in every competition I’ve done, plus I’ve won a medal in each of the competitions I’ve done and that makes me very proud. DMSF has helped me build my confidence in every way.
“I now say to my friends ‘you’ve got to join DMSF because the team and the coaches bring out the best in you’, they know your strengths and weaknesses. It’s fun, everyone is friendly and welcoming, which is perfect when you’re a young, shy girl who no one believed in.
“Although I know I’m not on target in every subject yet, I’m working very hard. I’m on target in English and I’m currently waiting for my results to come through. Alongside my education, I’d love to be a model as I absolutely love fashion. There are no more dress code detentions for me! I’m saving my earrings, lipstick and accessories for when the school bell rings.
“I’d love to become Head Girl – but only time will tell. Maybe if I continue aiming so high it’ll happen – I do hope so!”
