Andrews Goes Places?He Performs At The White House

Thirteen-year old Andrews Osei Bonsu will forever thank God for giving him a talent which has raised him from grass to grace.

So gifted is Andrews that within a few months of discovering his potential as a multi-talented musician, he has performed at the White House in the United States of America and toured 14 states and 24 cities in that country.

He also performed with renowned musicians from all over the world at the ?Nelson Mandela 6664 Concert? which preached against AIDS in South Africa last year. He also had the opportunity of praying for Mr Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa.

But for his talent, Andrews would have become a school drop out and would be filling potholes to earn money to feed himself.

Multi-talented Andrews, who plays drums, the piano, offers prayers and also sings, dropped out of school for two years due to financial problems. During that period he found it difficult to even have one square meal a day and had to fill potholes to make money.

Through his God-given talents, Andrews has achieved what every child and parent would wish for.

Narrating how it all happened to the Junior Graphic, Andrews said he had to drop out of school, at the African Child School, when he was in Class Six because his father had retired and his mother was unemployed.

Andrews, the forth of eight children said, he was then saddled with the burden of fending for himself.

He said one day, while filling potholes a lady he calls Auntie Pat, who runs an NGO, asked whether he was not going to school and after he had told her his problem, she decided to enroll him at the Our Lady of Assumption Catholic School at New Achimota to begin Class Four.

All this while, Andrews, who believed God was going to make a way for him, did not relent in his efforts. He asked the Pastor one day if he could play the drums in church since no one was interested in playing. And to the surprise of the congregation, he did it to perfection.

While practising on the drums one day, Andrews said, Mrs. Ruth Butler Stokes, the Chief Executive Officer of the Children?s Christian Storehouse International (CCSI), heard him and realised he had talent which needed to be developed.

?After I had gone through an auditioning exercise, Grandma, (as Mrs. Stokes is affectionately called by the children), asked me to join the Gateway Ambassadors which had been performing all over the world,? Andrews explained.

He said in October 2002, the group was invited to Africare Dinner in Washington DC to create awareness on the HIV/AIDS menace.

There, Andrews performed with stars such as Harry Bella Fonte and Bono, a rock star and even had his prayer on a new album, which Bono is about to release.

Asked how he is able to offer such touching prayers, he said, ?it is the Holy Spirit that leads me and sometimes after the show, I become shocked at how I prayed?.

In 2003, Andrews went on another tour with the World Vision International to perform in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, all in the US.

On how he combines work and studies, Andrews said he took his studies very seriously and would like to become a medical doctor and pastor in future.

Andrews was grateful to Auntie Pat and Marquita Stokes, the Vice President of CCSI, who are financing his education.