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In Africa it has been part of the culture for hundreds of years to practice
traditional medicine. Right across this vast continent tribes would have a
healer or shaman. These healers used knowledge passed down to them through the
generations, but kept them as closely guarded secrets. The secrets of herbs,
tree bark, roots, fruits and berries that were used for their healing qualities
were, and still are, used throughout Africa and the rest of the world by
indigenous peoples (`botanising’ started the pharmaceutical industry,
when the discovery of pain-killing properties in willow tree bark led to the
invention of aspirin).
People would come from far and wide to receive Akua Asirifia's
remedies. As a boy Jerry was used to seeing long lines of people, young and
old, coming and going from his grandmother’s house, many of whom went
away never to return. That was the extent of Akua’s fame, given that most
people experienced dramatic relief from the painful and debilitating symptoms
of asthma and bronchial irritation after using this powder.
What was most astonishing was that treatment was in most cases one-off - most
people who had suffered for years from asthma, hayfever and other respiratory
problems were free of their lifetime’s problem after taking the powdered
bark of this gum tree.
Akua's success was brought to the attention of Dr. Miser, a Swiss doctor based
at a nearby Presbyterian mission hospital in Agogo in the Ashanti region of
Ghana. He acknowledged what he heard sceptically, as would most Western medical
practitioners. However, as his patients continued to tell him that their
symptoms had disappeared after taking the powder, he decided to investigate for
himself.
Dr. Miser had suffered with mild asthma so he was somewhat intrigued and sought
out Akua to try the powder. The result amazed him, and he returned to Akua to
ask her permission to have the powder tested and asked Akua to disclose her
secret, if it passed the testing.
Akua was concerned that if the secret of Yamoa was unveiled it would be open to
abuse; it might be made available only for people who could afford it, or worse
still it might be kept a secret from everyone by a pharmaceutical company with
a vested interest in doing so. So Akua guarded the Yamoa secret as it had been
guarded through the generations of shaman before her. Somewhat dismayed, Dr.
Miser would often send his incurable cases to her - and would continue to call
round in person. Dr. Miser pressed Akua for her knowledge, but she refused on
every occasion.
As Jerry grew older, he was told he was not destined to become a shaman. He
didn’t mind as he was drawn towards teaching which is what he went on to
do. Jerry trained to be a primary school teacher, and his ambition was to
create a life for himself in England.
Eventually he emigrated here, settling in South London. For many years Jerry
worked for the Post Office where he was surprised to meet so many people
suffering with asthma and hayfever which in Ghana he had seen his grandmother
so easily alleviate. Remembering all that his grandmother had told him and the
queues of people that received the remedy, Jerry travelled back to Ghana in
1994 and asked Akua to tell him her secret. It took much persuading by Jerry
and other members of the family before Akua finally granted him the secret and
let him bring the remedy to the UK.
After a tribal ceremony in Ghana, Jerry Yamoa, grandson of Akua Asirifia,
finally received the knowledge of the source of the remedy for the benefit of
others. Akua took Jerry to the forest and showed him the bark of a tree. She
gave him sole responsibility for bringing the remedy to those who need it. Akua
knew many secrets of natural remedies and Jerry was very impressed with her
extensive knowledge of herbs, plants and tree barks. Akua died aged 107,
pleased that her grandson would sustain her legacy.
On his return to England, Jerry asked 20 colleagues at the Nine Elms Postal
Office who suffered from asthma and hayfever to try the powdered bark. All 20
reported that they were much improved. Some were convinced that their asthma
had gone completely, others with hayfever had no symptoms at all after taking
the month’s course. For the first time, people were able to lead a normal
life because of this mystery powder.
Jerry was overwhelmed with the results. They were remarkable and profound with
a 90% success rate, and two years later the first group were still going strong
and were not having to use other forms of medication.
Obviously word spread, and Jerry was soon back in Ghana arranging for a regular
shipment of the powder. In the UK things were going well and Channel 4
Television took an interest in Yamoa Powder and showed a feature on the 'London
Today' programme.
Realising that Yamoa Powder was even more effective than he remembered as a
boy, he decided to find the best way to bring it to the people who needed it,
and on the advice of some friends, Jerry approached Boots the Chemists and
Glaxo-Wellcome but only hit brick walls.
In his naïvete Jerry thought that they would jump at the chance of helping
so many sufferers, but as it was pointed out to him later, if you are a company
making millions of pounds out of asthma and hayfever, would you give up all
your profits on a one-off remedy that actually works?
Undeterred to bring Yamoa Powder to those who most need it, Jerry began to sell
it by himself. It wasn’t long before word soon spread and sales began to
increase at a steady stream. Sufferers who had taken the powder were telling
friends and family about his remarkable remedy and after a year 70% of
Jerry’s sales were all by word-of-mouth.
Understanding Jerry’s plight, a herb company offered to help him reach
out to health shops. However, Yamoa Powder has been treated with a certain
amount scepticism by some shop owners, and it is quite apparent that there are
two types of health shop; one that acknowledges its role as a source of
information and help for people looking for alternatives to mainstream
medicines and foods, and one that has jumped on the health bandwagon in the
interests of profit, not people.
Jerry set up his own company in and with Tania Wedin of Not the Norm Ltd,
Yamoapowder.com was built to bring news of the existence of Yamoa into the
worldwide domain, and as a result Jerry now has a number of distributors
worldwide.
A number of prominent independent scientists and research teams in London, France, Ivory Coast and the USA have studied Yamoa's properties over the years, and
research has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, International Immunopharmacology, Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters and The Journal of Immunology on a variety of its properties and actions.
Continuing research that we are aware of is underway at Montana State University and other research teams are looking at its antiplasmodial actions on the malaria parasite.
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