Renowned Ghanaian YouTuber and filmmaker Wode Maya has opened up about his challenging childhood, recounting experiences of poverty, resilience, and the lessons that continue to shape his humility and philanthropic work today.
Speaking on Starr Chat with Bola Ray on Thursday, January 29, 2026, Wode Maya shared how his family lived in extreme poverty without fully realising it.
“My family was extremely poor, but we didn’t even know it was poverty,” he said. “You live in a life you’re too used to.”
He recalled how his mother, a kenkey seller, sometimes borrowed small amounts of money to keep her business running. One Christmas, a loan of 20 Ghana cedis led to a heartbreaking incident.
“The woman my mom borrowed the money from came to the house,” Wode Maya said.
“She said, ‘You owe me 20 Ghana cedis and you’re eating with your family.’ She took the entire basin and poured the food away.” The painful memory still brings his mother to tears. “That’s how painful it was,” he added.
Wode Maya also reflected on attending school in torn uniforms, a situation that motivated him to give back.
“That’s why I went back to my school to give them uniforms,” he explained. “Because I didn’t have one.”
Despite his global success, Wode Maya remains grounded and does not identify with the celebrity persona often associated with him.
“I don’t see myself like the guy everyone talks about online,” he said. “This is me. It still reminds me of where I come from.”
He further described growing up in crowded living conditions, sharing a single chamber and hall with people outside his immediate family.
“We were about five kids, plus other people living with us,” he said. “We all grew up together.”
Source: Starrfm.com.gh / Barbara Yeboah
