Babs, as she was affectionately called, the second of 4 daughters was born on Wednesday 1st December 1976 at St Mary’s Hospital Paddington London, England to Mr Joe Kwateng and Mrs Eunice Achiaa Kwateng (nee Asafo-Agyei) originally from Kumasi, Ashanti, Ghana, West Africa.

Babs attended Oliver Goldsmith Primary School in Kingsbury, London and when the family moved to Stanmore, she attended St. Margaret’s School for Girls in Hertfordshire, England. She completed her ‘A’ Levels at Woodhouse College in Finchley, Barnet, London. With impressive results, she was offered a place at University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) where she read Computing and German, achieving BSc Honours. She then worked with SAP, a major software company in the City of London and after 3 months was transferred to Germany. After a couple of years she left SAP to study for her masters’ degree at the LSE (London School of Economics) where she was awarded the highest grade,
a Distinction. With a solid academic background and fluency in German and French, Babs initially worked at the European Union and thereafter worked for the International Confederation of Trade Unions [Global Unions] at its headquarters in Brussels as its Press Officer until her untimely death at age 28.

Barbara raised by a humble African family in London, then became an internationally acclaimed figure throughout the world. From Europe through to Cambodia, Barbados, Brazil, Congo, Kenya, Japan, Jordan, New Zealand South Africa and the USA to mention a few, she was known as the sister who worked tirelessly. The “Make Poverty History” of which she was made a co-chair of its media campaign and the G8 Summit at Gleneagles, Scotland was an endorsement of her global influence and acclaim. The book of condolences put together by the entire staff at the ICTU is indeed a true testament of Barbara’s global popularity.

For us the Kwateng family, Barbara will always be remembered as the little girl who at a tender age demonstrated intellectual brilliance, assertiveness, strength of character, purposefulness and above all altruism. We will always cherish the copious notes she made throughout her travels for her first novel which she had intended to write.

It’s been a while since Bab’s suddenly departed from us but the pain and heartache that we feel as a result of her departure are as strong as those we had in the morning of 9th August 2005 when we received the phone call from the hospital.

BABS YOU WILL FOREVER REMAIN IN OUR HEARTS. WE MISS YOU EVERYDAY & WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU

Written by the parents of Barbara Kwateng

Barbara’s Prayer to God written
4th April 2004

Let us pray for peace.

Let us remember those less fortunate than us, those who struggle against the backdrop of war and whose lives are crippled by the consequences of fighting and human hatred.

We pray to God to give us the strength to make our world a more humane one.

Let us not simply congratulate ourselves on our fate Dear Lord but also take on the responsibility for those who are not as fortunate.

Dear Lord, give us the power and courage to work for your wish of peace.