UAE Helping Hands: Ghanian father-of-three cannot afford tuition or medical care

The 50-year-old is struggling nearly a decade after he took a loan for his company in the global recession

Rich-Agoa Davidson, 50, from Ghana needs support to pay off his debts. Antonie Robertson / The National

Rich-agoa Davidson was once a manager and shareholder at a major company. Like other companies, his began facing difficulties at the beginning of the global financial crisis in 2008. In an attempt to keep it afloat, Mr Davidson took out a loan of Dh250,000. A year later and in spite of his best efforts, the company shut down and he was left unemployed and with a loan of Dh250,000. The 50-year-old from Ghana has three children to support, one of whom has special needs.

Hisham Al Zahrani, manager of Zakat and Social Services at Dar Al Ber said: “Since he has lost his job, his middle child who suffers from learning difficulties and bowlegs has not been receiving treatment and all his children have stopped going to school.”

Mr Davidson has three children, a girl aged 16 and two boys aged 14 and 3.

“I was raised with my two brothers and three sisters to show respect to the elderly and to work hard to reach whatever we set as our aspirations” he said.

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He moved to Dubai on March 10, 1997.

“In Dubai, I did all I have been taught both at home and at school. I lived a simple life respecting the law of the land and the institutions that regulate my core businesses,” he said.

His troubles began in 2009, he explains. “In October, in preparation for the stock trading the company, I took a guaranteed loan against company assets. The process in completing the transaction for the loan overlapped and was delayed and so I took a personal of Dh250,000 to finance the outstanding tenancy payment on behalf of the company.”

After the company shut down and a court order was issued, he realised he could never repay the loan.

“I could not move on to secure a job over a period of nine years. The bank has refused, on many occasions,  to permit me to secure a job and re-structure the loan payment. This has affected my visa status as well as my wife and three children, as well as their education.”

The family survive through support of family and friends who have their own responsibilities and cannot continue to support them. The family have an outstanding debt of Dh215,000 to pay the hospital where his wife delivered their youngest son in 2015.

"I want to continue searching for a job so I could re-structure the loan to pay. But as stated earlier, if I can get help paying the bank loan and the hospital bill, I can easily and quickly get a job and regularizes my visa and my family. I am confident with my expertise in sales and resource management, and all I need at this moment is an opportunity for a new job to resettle my liabilities. Your humanitarian assistance will help me stand back on my feet, never to fall a victim to a simple promise," Mr Davidson said.

"The family can not settle these amounts without support,” said Mr Al Zahrani.

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