Victoria Zormelo-Gorleku
Encyclopedia
Rev. Mrs. Victoria Ama Zormelo-Gorleku (born 14 September 1907, Keta
) was the first woman Prisons Officer in Ghana
, and the first ordained woman priest in any of the established Mission Churches in Ghana.
, was the second daughter of Godfred Nyavor Zormelo, a former North German Mission employee and fishing magnate from Tegbi, and Emilia Tornyewonya Ablawo Tamakloe, a bread and cake seller. Charity Zormelo
was her older half-sister.
Educated at the local AME Zion
school, she gained employment for the District Commissioner in 1927 and was the only woman to pass the Civil Service Entrance Examination in May 1927. Posted to the Department of Posts and Telegraphs at Accra
, she gave up her job upon marriage to a Mr Godfred Gorleku of Adafoah, but was left widowed and pregnant within a year. Having lost her husband when five months pregnant, she had no choice but to return to her family at Keta
, where she gave birth to her first child Alberta Olivia Gorleku. Returning to work in 1932, for the Department of Posts and Telegraphs at Koforidua
, she resigned again to marry a Mr George Kojo Deh of Leklebi, Dugah, a clerk in the District Commissioner's Court, Koforidua, in a customary Ewe ceremony later that year, and had two more children; Love-Grace Amedome Deh on October 31, 1933 and George Kojoga Deh on June 03, 1935. She never did take her new husband's name.
In 1941, her second husband died and, again she was forced to return to her family at Keta. A widow for the second time and single mother to three small children, she desperately needed to get back to work, so later that year, she joined the Gold Coast Prisons Service at Ho
as a temporary matron at the female prison and subsequently obtained a transfer to Keta Prisons. Rising quickly through the ranks, she was transferred to the James Fort maximum security prison in Accra
where she continued to excel, becoming the first female Prisons Superintendent, in November 1963.
Upon her retirement from the now Ghana Prisons Service
in 1967, Victoria Zormelo-Gorleku trained for the Christian ministry and on 21 April 1970 she was ordained Deaconess
by Bishop W. H. Hilliard, becoming the first woman priest of the AME Zion Church in Ghana.
Keta
Keta is a city in Volta Region, Ghana. It was an important trading post between the 14th and late 20th century via a port and fort built by the Dutch in 1784. Parts of the city were devastated by sea erosion between the 1960s and 1980s....
) was the first woman Prisons Officer in Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, and the first ordained woman priest in any of the established Mission Churches in Ghana.
Life
Victoria Ama Zormelo (affectionately called "Antima"), an EweEwe people
The Ewe are a people located in the southeast corner of Ghana, east of the Volta River, in an area now described as the Volta Region, in southern Togo and western Benin...
, was the second daughter of Godfred Nyavor Zormelo, a former North German Mission employee and fishing magnate from Tegbi, and Emilia Tornyewonya Ablawo Tamakloe, a bread and cake seller. Charity Zormelo
Charity Zormelo
Charity Akoshiwo Tornyewonya Zormelo, subsequently Mrs Fiawoo was the first woman graduate from the Gold Coast, and the first woman from English-speaking West Africa to earn a B. S...
was her older half-sister.
Educated at the local AME Zion
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, or AME Zion Church, is a historically African-American Christian denomination. It was officially formed in 1821, but operated for a number of years before then....
school, she gained employment for the District Commissioner in 1927 and was the only woman to pass the Civil Service Entrance Examination in May 1927. Posted to the Department of Posts and Telegraphs at Accra
Accra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
, she gave up her job upon marriage to a Mr Godfred Gorleku of Adafoah, but was left widowed and pregnant within a year. Having lost her husband when five months pregnant, she had no choice but to return to her family at Keta
Keta
Keta is a city in Volta Region, Ghana. It was an important trading post between the 14th and late 20th century via a port and fort built by the Dutch in 1784. Parts of the city were devastated by sea erosion between the 1960s and 1980s....
, where she gave birth to her first child Alberta Olivia Gorleku. Returning to work in 1932, for the Department of Posts and Telegraphs at Koforidua
Koforidua
Koforidua, also popularly known as Kof-town, is a city in the West African republic of Ghana, about an hour by road from Accra. It is the capital of the Eastern Region of Ghana and has a population of 87,315 ....
, she resigned again to marry a Mr George Kojo Deh of Leklebi, Dugah, a clerk in the District Commissioner's Court, Koforidua, in a customary Ewe ceremony later that year, and had two more children; Love-Grace Amedome Deh on October 31, 1933 and George Kojoga Deh on June 03, 1935. She never did take her new husband's name.
In 1941, her second husband died and, again she was forced to return to her family at Keta. A widow for the second time and single mother to three small children, she desperately needed to get back to work, so later that year, she joined the Gold Coast Prisons Service at Ho
Ho, Ghana
Ho is a town in southeast Ghana and is the capital of the Volta Region. It lies between Mount Adaklu and Mount Galenukui , and is home to a museum, a cathedral and a large prison...
as a temporary matron at the female prison and subsequently obtained a transfer to Keta Prisons. Rising quickly through the ranks, she was transferred to the James Fort maximum security prison in Accra
Accra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
where she continued to excel, becoming the first female Prisons Superintendent, in November 1963.
Upon her retirement from the now Ghana Prisons Service
Ghana Prisons Service
The Ghana Prisons Service is responsible for the safe custody of prisoners in Ghana, as well as their reformation and rehabilitation. It is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior.-Functions:...
in 1967, Victoria Zormelo-Gorleku trained for the Christian ministry and on 21 April 1970 she was ordained Deaconess
Deaconess
Deaconess is a non-clerical order in some Christian denominations which sees to the care of women in the community. That word comes from a Greek word diakonos as well as deacon, which means a servant or helper and occurs frequently in the Christian New Testament of the Bible. Deaconesses trace...
by Bishop W. H. Hilliard, becoming the first woman priest of the AME Zion Church in Ghana.