In a world that often revolves around self-interest and material wealth, few individuals choose a different path—one guided by humility, sacrifice, and pure love. Dr. David Abdulai Fuseini was one such person.

Nine years ago today, October 2, 2016, Ghana lost a remarkable personality whose existence was an indelible hallmark of selfless service to humanity. He earned various nicknames, such as “The Mad Doctor” or “Dr. Choggu,” but he was more than a medical doctor. He was a humanitarian, a visionary, and an unyielding crusader for the cause of society’s forgotten people.

In the bustling city of Tamale, Ghana, where need and rejection so often go unobserved, Dr. Abdulai opted to notice, and far more significantly, he opted to do something about it. In the early 1980s, he made a dramatic, life-changing choice: he resigned from his formal position as a professional medical doctor to embark on an unconventional mission. He left the comfort of a salary-earned profession to serve the poorest of the poor without charge or condition. He went on to establish Shekhinah for the Poor and Destitute, a refuge where the mentally ill, the homeless, the widowed, and the abandoned experienced not only medical care but also dignity, affection, and hope. He started this endeavor when Ghana’s health system was running on the Cash and Carry system—a policy that demanded payments upfront before administering medical attention. Under such a system, healthcare access was a privilege for only the people who could pay for it. And yet Dr. Abdulai decided on a completely contrasting course: provide medical care, food, shelter, and clothing freely and unconditionally for people who had absolutely nothing in the society but who also deserve these necessities as human beings. His decision was a calling based on faith, courage, and conviction. He believed that access to basic life necessities should not be a privilege but a right, that love should not be a medicine to be administered in small doses but a flood that should be poured out, and that the poorest of the poor had a right not just to being taken care of but to being showered with compassion without condition.

A Mission That Stands on Love

Dr. Abdulai’s work was revolutionary in its simplicity: treat everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. No fees. No discrimination. No bureaucracy. Just love, and love and healing. At the Out-Patient-Department section of Shekhinah Clinic facility hangs an epigraph that emphasizes that all services in this facility are rendered freely and unconditionally, purely for the love of God and neighbor, and we depend wholly on Divine Providence. For more than thirty years, his philanthropic work consistently embodied this mantra. Whether he was serving the hungry on the streets of Tamale, consulting, or performing surgeries at the theater, he practiced a kind of love that transcends title or institution.

Dr. Choggu with Elham, an abandoned child entrusted to the care of Shekhinah

Dr. Choggu standing in front of Shekhinah’s Theatre

A Life That Touched My Own

My association with the remarkable work of Dr. Abdulai runs very deep personally. I met him first in 2008 through his wife, Mariama, who took me as a brother and helped me when I was an undergraduate at the University for Development Studies. Mariama was my course mate, and we lived in the same house and studied the same course. That meeting was the start of a lifelong friendship. After that day, I became one of the family members and participated actively in the activities of Shekhinah for the Poor and Destitute. I spent every Christmas break and every long break from work each year with Dr. Abdulai’s family in Tamale, learning in an atmosphere where compassion was not merely talked about but embodied. In 2016, I made a life-changing decision to relocate and join the family in Tamale, and that decision has been a tremendous blessing in my life. I can say with absolute certainty that what I have learned from Dr. Abdulai and his family since 2008 until today cannot be equated with a hundred years of classroom learning. The lessons and the insights drastically changed my worldview and value system. Among many things, I learned that service is not a deed but a lifestyle; that compassion is not an emotion but a day-in, day-out living; that when you give dignity even to the downtrodden, it will change lives around, including your own; and that integrity is not tested in moments of comfort but in the courage to do what is right. Above all, I learned that a life dedicated to others is the most meaningful one can live in this fleeting world.

A Legacy Continues

Although Dr. Abdulai passed away in 2016, his legacy will live on forever, not merely in the long-standing tradition of Shekhinah for the Poor and Destitute, but equally in the unending commitment of his wife, Mariama. With the same love, passion, and deep conviction, Mariama has continued the mission in the spirit her husband embodied: serving the poorest of the poor with dignity, compassion, and boundless love. The David Abdulai Memorial School (DAMS), founded by Dr. Abdulai and Mariama, is currently one of the leading and most modern private basic schools, not only in Tamale but across Ghana. In less than nine years, the school has made significant impacts, transforming both lives and minds, and expects to graduate its first junior high school class in 2026/2027. Mariama’s leadership as the Executive Director of Shekhinah for the Poor and Destitute and David Abdulai Memorial School teaches that legacies do not merely get conserved; they get embodied. The work of Shekhinah for the Poor and Destitute is just beginning, and the need is great. We as a society need to get behind this vision by contributing our resources, our voices, and our hearts to keep the mission afloat. 

Dr Choggu & Mariama

A Call to Reflection

As we reflect on the extraordinary life of Dr. Abdulai and celebrate Mariama’s continued work, we must ask ourselves:

In a country where social welfare systems and interventions are still developing or only exist on paper, how do the mentally ill, the voiceless, the weak, the abandoned, and the destitute eat, go for healthcare, or sleep?

This is not a rhetorical question. In my sincere opinion, the question is a call to conscience. It is an invitation to act. The greatest crime in the desert is to obtain water and remain silent while others die of thirst. In a similar vein, the greatest moral crime we can commit as human beings in our era is to witness the suffering of so many powerless people and do nothing, especially having what it takes to help and yet choosing indifference.

Let us not just admire the legacy of Dr. Abdulai—let us live it.

Let us be bold in our compassion, generous in our service, and tireless in our pursuit of equity for the oppressed.

Rest in Peace, Dr. Abdulai! Your light still shines. Your love still heals. Your legacy lives on.

If this message resonates with you, don’t keep it to yourself—please share it with friends and family and leave a comment. Let’s grow together in wisdom, purpose, and grace. Thank you for being part of the family.

ABOUT THE WRITER

Seiba Issifu is a PhD student in geography at The Ohio State University (OSU) in Columbus, USA. His research critically investigates the contested socio-political dynamics of Ghana’s artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector. Before joining OSU, Seiba earned a bachelor’s degree in development studies with first-class honors and an MPhil in agricultural economics from the University for Development Studies (UDS), Tamale, as well as a postgraduate diploma in geography education with distinction from the Catholic University of Ghana, Sunyani. He is the founder of Asco Publications and author of eight books on geography, economics, study skills, and personal development—many of which have been approved by the Ghana Education Service and are widely used by high school and undergraduate students across West Africa.

Contact details.

Email : seiba@ascopublications.com OR issifu.1@osu.edu

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/seiba-issifu-8362121a2