SOLDIER’S TEARS: Grandma Soja Reveals the Acts of Kindness that Make Her Cry

Retired Lt. Col. Georgina Mensah says she cries easily whenever people show her kindness, describing the emotion as a sign of gratitude.

Retired Lieutenant Colonel Georgina Mensah, popularly known as “Grandma Soja,” has revealed that acts of kindness can move her to tears, despite her reputation as a tough and fearless military officer.

The retired soldier, who served in the Ghana Armed Forces and became Ghana’s first female United Nations peacekeeper, made the revelation in an interview with Kafui Dey.

Asked when she last cried, Grandma Soja did not hesitate.

“I like crying a lot,” she said.

According to her, receiving gifts or experiencing unexpected kindness from others can easily bring tears to her eyes.

“Even when somebody gives me something, I start crying,” she said.

She explained that the tears are not necessarily caused by sadness but by gratitude.

“When you give me something and I’m so grateful, tears come into my eyes,” she said.

Her emotional nature, she revealed, was something her colleagues noticed even during her military training.

She recalled how the Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) once joked about her tendency to cry, saying she had “too much water” in her head.

Grandma Soja, however, sees the tears differently.

For a woman who spent much of her career in a traditionally male-dominated environment, where toughness and discipline were essential, her admission offers a softer glimpse into the personality behind the military uniform.

She says kindness touches her deeply and sometimes, the only way she can express that gratitude is through tears.