Catherine, Popularly Known As Key Mama is a Ghanaian based in the United States, appeared on SVTV Africa’s Daily Hustle Worldwide with DJ Nyaami, where she shared her powerful life journey spanning over three decades in America.
Catherine has lived in the United States for 30 years, with most of her life unfolding in the Bronx, New York. Her story is one of sacrifice, resilience, education, and community service.
Before traveling abroad, Catherine was already a hardworking woman in Ghana. After school, she became pregnant at a young age and gave birth. She trained as a dressmaker, owned her own shop at Kaneshie, and also sold items by the roadside before securing a formal job. Shortly after giving birth, she heard about traveling abroad. Though things were stable at the time, she made the difficult decision to travel and left her newborn child behind.
“My children were my first gold,” Catherine said emotionally. Her firstborn is now over 30 years old, and she is already a grandmother.
When she arrived in America, Catherine admitted she did not know where she was going or what to expect. For almost one year, she struggled to find a job. Eventually, she started working as a caregiver, a job many immigrants rely on to survive abroad.
She described caregiving as extremely demanding. “I did seven-day live-in care jobs, staying in people’s houses. Sometimes, when someone needed to be removed, I couldn’t even function properly,” she explained. The stress pushed her to start paying close attention to her health and wellbeing.
Despite the hardship, Catherine refused to give up on education. While doing care work, she pursued her first degree, later earned a Master’s degree in Hospitality from Devry College, and then went on to complete a second Master’s degree in Business Management. Today, she is considering pursuing a Doctorate.
“All of this happened in the Bronx,” she emphasized.
Five years after settling in the U.S., Catherine was able to return to Ghana to bring her children. However, her marriage did not survive the long separation. Her husband could not wait and moved on. Catherine later remarried in the United States and had three more children, bringing her total to five children. She jokingly added that if she gets pregnant again, she will give birth.
Catherine strongly defended the Bronx, a place often misunderstood. “There are ghettos in the Bronx, but there are also very good places. When I hear people speak badly about the Bronx, I get angry,” she said.
She is an active member of the Ghanaian Community Council in the Bronx and is deeply involved in community advocacy. Catherine frequently shares information that can help Ghanaians, though she expressed disappointment that many do not attend community meetings. She referenced the recent stabbing death of a man named George, allegedly by a known assailant, stressing the need for vigilance and awareness of one’s surroundings.
Beyond advocacy, Catherine runs the Keymama Foundation, through which she supports women and community initiatives. She regularly travels to Ghana to celebrate and empower women and also networks with businesses in New York to support the “Ghana First” agenda by creating business opportunities that benefit Ghana.
Catherine’s story is a reminder that life abroad is not easy, but with determination, education, and purpose, it is possible to rise, give back, and inspire others.
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