Leticia Esi Sam— Driving is her passion

female bus driver ( women and children)
October 12,2007

Leticia Esi Sam—Driving is her passion

Pix and Story: Doreen Allotey

When the Border Guards were disbanded in 1985, Ms
Leticia Esi Sam, was one of six females who were to be integrated into the army as drivers. She was fascinated about the whole idea because the uniform had always appealed to her. Her father was a soldier and was happy that one of his six children was to take after him.
But there was one major problem; her mother. She kept telling Ms Sam that she was a girl and that she should choose a job for females. She however remained resolute and reported for training before her mother could know.
Her second obstacle was when her mother learnt that she was to be trained as a driver. She wept. But the girl from Assin Nsuta in the Central Region was determined and went along with the training.
She started with the pinzgauer and progressed to bigger vehicles through to the Leyland bus.
“When I started, it was difficult, but fright was not a word I even thought of” she told the Daily Graphic in a chat .
At the end of it all, she alone survived the training. The other five women she trained with were scared and could not complete the training.
As a border guard training at Kpetoe, Ms Sam found herself working as a nurse at the 37 Military Hospital where doctors had gone on strike in 1979. It was a not too pleasant experience for her . Some of her colleagues stayed and were trained as health professionals after the strike.
Ms Sam stayed in the army for six years . Her fond memories include when she drove journalists into the bush during a military operation known as “exercise teamwork” in 1985.
“The whole of Ghana thought there was a coup but the soldiers were just testing their readiness”, she recounted.
In 1986, Ms Sam applied to work for the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority as a driver. She was employed and has remained in that job for 21 years now. At 53 years, she is a shift supervisor at the transport section. She deals with fuel supplies and submits monthly returns to the transport manager.
Through the years, she plied all routes . She drove every where —in Accra , to the North, South , East and West of the country.
She was given no special concession by the men she worked with. She did night duties and would sleep among the men once she was on duty. She became popularly known among workers as Auntie Esi.
She sees driving as a way of gaining exposure and learning about different cultures. She became the love of workers of the authority especially because she had patience for them and was prepared to drive them anywhere.
“ I just feel happy behind the steer and even as a supervisor now , I just jump behind the wheel in the absence of any driver”, She said.
Auntie Esi said she had a lot of cheers as she drove through town and was even given gifts as she did so.
She did airport pick ups, drove the staff buses — Neoplan bus, Willowbrook, Space car, name it. She drives any vehicle.
At home, Auntie Esi enjoys washing , cleaning and cooking.
She advises women to believe in themselves to do whatever job they loved to do without thinking whether it is for males or females.
“The most important thing is to learn what you want to do very well and you will excel at it”, she said.