On the 10th of August, 62 teenage
girls from around the Ashanti region participated in Solutions for Life
Initiative – Ghana’s (SFLIG) first annual ‘Inspire to Aspire’ retreat day. Set
amongst the luscious landscape of the KNUST Botanical Gardens, the program saw adolescents
participate in a variety of activities aimed at challenging and inspiring them
to ‘aspire’ to education.
The day began with sixty strong female voices
yelling “Be the change you want to see in the world” – the catchphrase of
SFLIG’s Change Makers Ambassadors clubs. Dedicated to educating and mentoring
adolescent females in the Kumasi region, these clubs provide the girls with a
safe and supportive environment to explore and discuss relevant issues and
topics. As many of the Change Makers faces were new to each other, the first
port of call was to ‘break the ice’ with a fun and engaging activity. A
‘cheerleaders’ interpretation of the classic ‘scissors, paper, rock’ did the
trick as within minutes, each of the girls were shouting each other’s names. It
was then time to focus on one of the key themes of the day – highlighting the
strength and abilities of each individual girl. In Ghana, low self-esteem is a real
barrier to education, many girls don’t believe they are worthy of gaining an
education or that they have the ability to do so. It was therefore SFLIG’s mission to incorporate
this theme into each of the sessions so that the participants may understand
and see the potential that lies within them.
Another key goal of the day was to challenge
and inspire the girls to see the possibilities that await them if they invest
in their education. To achieve this goal, SFLIG enlisted the help of several
female professionals from a variety of different professions including a
lawyer, dentist, teacher, entrepreneur, nurse, police and fire women and a biochemist.
Speaking about their educational journeys and the challenges they faced whilst
on them, each of the women discussed similar topics – each highlighted the need
to be dedicated to and focussed on the goals the girls want to achieve; each
spoke of the strength they had gained from God’s love; each spoke about the
dangers of becoming involved with boys from a young age; each emphasised the
role education has and is playing in making their dreams a reality and lastly,
but maybe most importantly, each spoke of the hope that education provided for
them. These guest speakers were able to
provide a message that resonated with many of the girls – anything is possible
if you believe and invest in you.
One particular story that emphasised the hope
that education brings is that of Joyce Nartey – a young woman who is
working hard to make a past mistake into a brighter future. Joyce was an
adolescent when she engaged in unprotected sex with her boyfriend resulting in
her contracting HIV and becoming pregnant. Whilst many would have let this
mistake dictate the rest of their lives, Joyce saw it as an opportunity to
educate other young girls about the dangers of engaging in sex from a young
age. Having now completed fashion school as a designer, dancer and actress and
welcomed two young children into the world, Joyce’s story speaks of the way the
girls can overcome challenges through education.
The final activity of the day was
one that required the girls to reflect on their own hopes and dreams for the
future. In taking the time to contemplate the goals that they wished to
achieve, these young women took positive steps towards making their dreams a
reality. To symbolise these steps, each girl used their unique thumbprint to
make a commitment to themselves and SFLIG that they will move forward from the
day with the lessons they have learnt and their ambitions at the forefront of
their minds (see pictures below). And as the last ‘Be the change you want to see in the world’ rang out,
it was clear that each girl had been challenged and inspired to think about
what their future could and should look like.
