Author: Emelia Naa Ayeley Aryee || Freelance Journalist
A young man popularly known as One Gad, and known in private life as Ekow Gyan, has been in the habit of risking his life to rescue people who almost lost their lives to drowning at the Sakumono Beach in Tema.
One of such incidents occurred on Sunday, November 17, 2024 at the beach, and attracted the attention of all who had come to relax and have fun.
As witnessed first-hand by this freelance journalist Emelia Naa Ayeley Aryee, the fun and enjoyment continued until there were shouts and screams loud enough to attract everyone’s attention no matter how deep they were in the water.
Soon, the news was all over that one of revellers had been spotted far away from the shore and was drowning.
In fact, the distant he had swum triggered sad reactions from people as they gave up all hopes of him coming back alive.
The dying man had been throwing his hand up gesturing for support.
However, the waves over powered him and he gave up. That was why no one thought he would have a second chance to live.
Then there was another young man who sprang into action, started swimming toward the dying man and most people wondered why he would want to risk his life because they believed the man was already dead.
One Gad Ekow Gyan With Freelance Journalist Emelia Naa Ayeley Aryee
This other guy swimming all the way without a life jacket was another cause for concern and worry for the people. All eyes were fixated on him as people eagerly waited for the outcome.
Tension arose when both men could not be seen for a moment. A few distressed voices were heard screaming out of pain of seeing someone’s life wasting away. Just, then, the first head came out of the sea. It was One Gad’s, followed by the head of the drowning man.
“He has found him, he has found him,” the people chanted, followed by a resounding clapped. They kept clapping as they watched One Gad and the dying man struggle against the sea waves to swim ashore.
The shouts and claps at the beach got hotter as One Gad managed to bring the unconscious man ashore, carried him into a waiting car away to be taken to the hospital.
He was hailed and called a hero for the wonder he had just performed.
The drowning man believed to be 35 years was just one of the over 15 people One Gad has rescued from death by drowning.
Who is One Gad?
One Gad is a 27-year-old man born in Winneba, Central Region.
At the age of 10, he had mastered the techniques of swimming, typical of most children born along the coast.
He lived with his mother in Winneba until age 17 when suddenly his father died.
Sadly, he had just completed his junior high school (JHS) education at that time and his mother could not afford to take him to secondary school. The painful end of One Gad’s education.
At age 17, he had to relocate to Tema to live with his brother and start something for himself. Life had become hard for him and the mother in Winneba, and as a ‘man’, he needed to start acting as one by going to find a job to keep him afloat.
Asked how he to know that someone was drowning, One Gad revealed that he was swimming himself when one young guy ran to inform him that “someone was going and he was needed to ‘rescue the perishing’”.
Without asking further questions, he ran after the informer to the location of the drowning man and dived straight in to rescue him.
He disclosed that he always goes to the beach on Sunday for his relaxation as he lived nearby.
Eyewitnesses who were engaged at the beach affirmed that One Gad had always saved lives of people anytime he was at the beach and such an incident occurred, but has never taken credit or boasted about it. Not even once.
“Anytime he saves someone, he goes back to swim or straight to the house. He doesn’t make it known to the people around that he was the one who did it,” one of his friends said.
Painfully, not one of the more than 15 lives One Gad rescued ever came back to thank him.
The only person who got back to him again noticed that his mobile phone was not working properly.
He took One Gad’s phone with a promise to fix and return it. However, it has been months and this man is nowhere to be found with the phone.
It is disheartening that a young man swims deep into the sea without a life jacket, risks his life to rescue someone dying and he does not get a common “thank you”.
As if that ingratitude was not enough, one of the people he rescued has also bolted with his phone.
Ekow Gyan, One Gad the saviour, is a mason and painter. His friends speak highly of his skills at his trade, just as he is at sea.
