Veteran television presenter and mother of songstress, Efya, Nana Adwoa Awindor, has revealed that she “mellowed” in the media space for her daughter to rise to fame.

The host of the popular ‘Greetings from Abroad’ show stated that she believed that in a home of celebrities, it was necessary for one to “come down” for the other to take the shine.

“In a house of celebrities, what you do is that you come down for the celebrity to grow. You don’t make it look like you are in competition. The moment Efya started, I mellowed the Nana Adwoa Awindor brand so she can come up and it was intentional. Until she got to her peak, then, I started working again”.

The proud mother of the musician stated that Efya’s singing ability is a God-given gift from childhood. “At age two, she was singing ‘happy birthday’ for us. We would give her the Karaoke microphone and she would sing for us. She was good from birth and was just gifted. She didn’t learn how to sing”.

Nana Adwoa Awindor and musician, Efya, have a close bond that is admired by many. In recent times, Efya has touted her mother as her greatest inspiration and best friend. According to Efya, her mother’s advice has shaped her into the woman she is today.

Nana Awindor talks about ‘Greetings from abroad’

That notwithstanding, Nana Adwoa Awindor rose to popularity through her show ‘Greetings from abroad’. Recounting how it all started, she disclosed that her husband, who had traveled to Chicago for educational purposes, called her and reminded her of an idea she had for a long time wanted to embark on.

EMYAFRICA18 MOMENTS 61 — Veteran television presenter, Nana Adwoa Awindor

“So, my idea was to talk about the real issues people were faced with abroad. Because a lot of people thought it was all rosy for people living there. However, it was far from that. But I don’t know what happened and I couldn’t push through with that.
“My husband went to school in Chicago and when he was there, he called me and told me that there is this vibrant Ghanaian community in Chicago and that idea that I wanted to run, why don’t I test it on another level. Then I was like then let’s do greetings because people abroad at that time didn’t know where their parents were. So, let’s just do greetings and on the side, we will talk about the real issues they face abroad”.

People didn’t show interest in the show

Nana Awindor also recounted some challenges she faced at the beginning of her show. According to her, several people rejected the idea of her interviewing them for the fear that their family will see how poorly they were living abroad. She also mentioned that some who agreed to do the show, later on, reverted after she had traveled miles to shoot them.

“We got the opportunity to talk to people about how they are living life abroad, what they do. It was so difficult getting them and it wasn’t easy at all because some will say yes, I am interested then when you are ready to shoot, they will tell you I don’t want to do it anymore.
“Those days, the communication process wasn’t fast because it was word of mouth. I tell this to tell another person. So, it wasn’t easy at all”.

She further noted that it was only after the first series became a hit that several people became interested in the show “because they heard about it. It had its challenges but it was fun too”.