Melody Millicent Danquah

Melody Millicent Danquah (6 January 1937 – 18 March 2016) was a Ghanaian pilot and the first female pilot in Africa.[1][2]

Early life

Melody Danquah was born in Larteh Akuapem, on 6 January 1937 to Ibinijah Rexford Addo-Danquah, who was the illustrious Court Registrar and Arbitrator of Larteh. Her mother was Selina Gyamfi. Melody was the sixth of 10 siblings.

Education

Danquah was educated at the Methodist Primary and Middle schools in Larteh and Wesley Girls High School in Cape Coast. She was also a product of the Government Secretarial School.[3]

Career

She was chosen among the first three women towards the end of 1963 to be trained into the Ghana Air Force as pilots. She successfully made the grade and the subsequent basic military training at the Ghana Military Academy. On 22 June 1964, Flt. Cadet Danquah flew solo for the first time in a de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk aircraft, becoming the first Ghanaian to fly an aeroplane solo.[4] She received her Wings qualifying her as a pilot from Kofi Baako who was the Minister of Defence on the 15th of April,1965. She ended her flying career in June 1968 and began to do administrative work in the Force. In 1984, she was discharged due to the state of her health. She received a Long Service award and The Efficiency Medal.[5]

Life after active service

After she retired from the military, she worked for the World Food Programme for a brief period and then the National Service Secretariat. At the age of 60, she earned a Diploma in Bible Studies and Theology and began to preach to military audiences. She later joined the Board of Directors for the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration.[6]

Acknowledgements

She was mentioned by Mrs. Rebeca Akufo-Addo, the first lady of Ghana during the 2017 International Women's Day celebrations for being an inspiration to women.[7] She was honored with The Companion of the Order of the Volta in 2006, by President John Kufuor for being a courageous pacesetter.[8]

gollark: "Everything" = "most data going over internet, and stuff sent/stored on popular platforms"
gollark: *But* they do not actually need to intercept everything to actually provide security.
gollark: Yes, probably it is eventually dropped, mostly.
gollark: Yes, and then keeping all the remaining data for no good reason.
gollark: If it was national security, they could, say, monitor those who have, I don't know, significantly associated with known terrorists, and not stick backdoors in everything and monitor piles of internet traffic.

References
  1. "Melody takes her last flight". Graphic Online. 2 April 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  2. Myjoyonline.com. "Ghana News - Professor Angela Lamensdorf Loses Mother". www.myjoyonline.com. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  3. "Government Secretarial School gets hostel". www.ghananewsagency.org. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  4. https://www.graphic.com.gh/features/features/melody-takes-her-last-flight.html
  5. Taylor, Mildred (2018-05-04). "A look at Melody Millicent Dankwa, the first female pilot in Africa". Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  6. "A look at Melody Millicent Dankwa, the first female pilot in Africa". Face2Face Africa. 2018-04-05. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  7. Adjorlolo, Ruth Abla. "First Lady Mrs. Akufo-Addo pledges to champion women's advancement". www.gbcghana.com. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  8. "A look at Melody Millicent Dankwa, the first female pilot in Africa". Face2Face Africa. 2018-04-05. Retrieved 2019-05-25.


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