We lived on the streets and survived on leftovers – Piesie Esther recounts sad beginnings

Gospel musician, Piesie Esther has recalled her past in a conversation where she stated clearly that she never knew she would become a music star.

In an interview on Experiences in Life with actress Nayas, the ‘Waye Me Yie’ hitmaker said she was born into a very poor family.

According to her, they could not afford clothes hence her parents, who were farmers, had to struggle before they could fend for her and her four siblings.

Narrating further, Piesie Esther said life in Mampong Nsuta Atonso, where she hails from, became difficult to the extent that her father left home in search of greener pastures after he defaulted on a government loan he signed up for.

She stated that for a long time, the family had not heard a word from her father until someone informed them that her dad was at Afram Plains – but things were worse for him there.

Piesie Esther said that her mother then took care of the home alone. “We never got fresh clothes and it was difficult for us to get things we wanted. We were so poor, I won’t lie about it, and it was very disgraceful…We went through a lot in life.”

The moment that led young Piesie Esther to be hopeful in life was when one of her mother’s friends gave her an invitation to visit her in Kumasi.

“My mother wanted to go to Kumasi but she knew no one there… so when this invitation came in, I was delighted. When we went there, my mother’s friend was living in a single room so we had to manage somewhere else and it was hell.”

“Imagine a married woman, leaving her home to become a servant for someone. But we loved it.

Life in Kumasi was hard, but Piesie Esther said it was better than her village. One of the sad moments she recalled vividly was when her mom re-packaged leftovers from a ‘chop bar’ she was working at then so she could feed them for the nights they spent in Kumasi.”

“We couldn’t afford food, we survived on chop bar leftovers. When they eat the fufu, then my mom will take the leftovers and make sure we eat in the evening.”

Speaking about her life, Piesie Esther asked “people going through trials and tribulations” to never lose focus since “testimonies never come without a struggle.”

She explained that all she went through gingered her to become the music star she is because she never struggles to pen down lyrics for most of her gospel songs citing her top hit ‘Mpare Me’ as one of the songs she wrote by relating to her mother’s tussle in life.

“If you are suffering today, you have to go through it. Otherwise you will never have testimonies, we all go through this to become better,” she said.

Samuel Ansong

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