Dr. Patience Turtoe-Sanders' Educational Background

Dr. Patience was educated both in Nigeria, and in America. She has a doctorate in Christian psychology, masters' degrees in Christian education and Public Administration, a bachelor's degree in Education, a Nigerian certificate in Education, a license in Practical Nursing, and a Post Baccalaureate certificate in Paralegal studies. She taught Educational Psychology in College of Education, Warri in Delta State, Nigeria, for eight years, and has worked in various fields.

When Did Dr. Patience Turtoe-Sanders begin to write?

Dr. Patience has always been a writer. Her earliest experience as a writer was when she was a toddler. She wrote in the sand, and used chalk and charcoal to write on her parents' and neighbor's wall and bed sheets, actions that aggravated her neighbors and embarrassed her parents. "Stop your foul scratching," they advised, and occasionally spanked her bottom, but little Patience would not stop.

As her child in Africa, Dr. Patience and other girls were discouraged from excelling in school because of the cultural beliefs that a woman's place was in the kitchen and that girls would marry and lose their fathers' name. During Patience's youth, memorizing, reading and writing the English language was a mark of intelligence. But only boys were encouraged to do this; girls were strongly discouraged from trying, but not Patience. She challenged and competed with the boys, and in most cases, she won. As a result, she was labeled, "Rebellious."

In Dr. Patience's African community at the time, illiterates would approach males to write letters and prepare documents for them for a fee. But girls and women's offers to perform the same tasks for free were denied, because of the cultural beliefs that women could not write as well as men. Then one day, when Dr. Patience was eight years old, a letter writer disappointed her mother, Mary-Titi. Mary-Titi was hurt because the Nigerian Civil War had just ended, and she wanted desperately to get in touch with her son, Cadet B.S. Ejoyoma Turtoe, who at the time was a student at the Nigerian Defense Academy. Mary-Titi cried, so little Patience offered to write the letter. When Cadet Ejoyoma-Turtoe received Patience's letter, he wrote back, called her "A born-writer," and praised her aptitude for writing. Patience had shattered "The Boy-Writer-Better" claim. Everyone now wanted her to write for them. Patience was thrilled. She wrote without compensation and offered to write even for those who had no real need. The boys got angry. They accused Patience of taking their business, and began calling her, "Troublesome." But their anger motivated Patience to write all the more. In the end the boys could do nothing because Patience had many male cousins to defend her if she was threatened.

Next

BIBLICAL STATEMENT "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall work and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31)