As part of a series of activities to celebrate International Women’s Month this March, Telecel Ghana and Telecel Ghana Foundation have organised the ‘Accelerate HER Future’ mentorship initiative, where female employees shared career experiences to guide and motivate over 200 young girls from the Kanda Cluster of Schools in Accra.
The initiative, aimed at exposing girls in junior high schools to diverse career choices, saw female professionals from technology, legal and external affairs, marketing, commercial operations, human resources, digital transformation, finance and consumer business units share invaluable insights and personal experiences into their careers and the opportunities that exist within these fields.
Hosted at the Rev. Dr Nantoma Presbyterian Church in Kanda, the sessions focused on personal career journeys, daily responsibilities in their respective roles, breaking down gender barriers and equipping the young girls with the confidence and knowledge to pursue their dreams in these fields.
The junior high school pupils were drawn from three schools in the Kanda Cluster, namely Kanda Estate 2 & 3 Basic School, Ring Road East 1 Basic School and Kanda A.M.A Basic School.
In her opening remarks, the Director of Legal and External Affairs at Telecel Ghana, Augusta Akushika Andrews, said the overarching goal was to create a future where women, especially young girls, realise their full potential and excel in every career they pursue.
“Be brave, be bold, be assertive and be yourself. Never give up on your dreams. If you learn consistently and believe in your strength and potential, you can achieve everything you put your mind to,” she said.
Mentorship
The ‘Accelerate HER Future’ mentorship initiative is an essential part of Telecel Ghana’s broader International Women’s Month campaign on the tailored theme, Accelerate HER.
The campaign seeks to amplify the voices of women, tackle gender biases and stereotypes, and support young girls in realising their potential.
Advise
One of the mentors, Veronica Da-Silva, an enterprise service operations manager in the technology department, in her session with the young girls, advised them to take their information technology studies seriously and embrace learning opportunities in the field.
“When I was your age, I didn’t have any role models in technology or women to inspire me to pursue a career in this field.
Being here with you today is fulfilling for me because I want you to be inspired and motivated by my journey and learn some lessons to help shape your careers
positively,” she said.
The initiative also received strong support from local authorities. Municipal Director of Education for Ayawaso East, Dr William Tsekpo said the mentorship sessions for young girls were crucial in improving their academic seriousness and molding them into responsible professionals in future.
She said “the mentorship sessions from Telecel Ghana’s corporate professionals have given the young girls the needed boost to visualise their futures and learn harder to be responsible citizens like these mentors.
I believe this mentorship push, when done consistently, will motivate them to learn more and rise to the top of their dream careers.”
Buy A Math-Set for HER
In addition to the mentorship sessions, the pupils were gifted stationery kits including a mathematical set, pack of writing books and Telecel branded souvenirs.
This is a result of the “Buy A Math-Set for HER” crowdfunding efforts by Telecel Ghana’s employees to raise money and purchase math-sets and other stationery for girls in schools.
Firdaus Mohammed, a 16-year-old student at the Kanda Cluster of Schools, expressed her gratitude to the mentors and said she is considering combining marketing and her dream career, journalism based on the exciting session she had.
“Before today, I wanted to be a journalist but after the sessions, I want to add digital technology and marketing to enrich it,” Firdaus said, holding up her new mathematical set and other stationery. “It was a very helpful and interesting discussion that has inspired me to learn and stay focused.”