Youth Alliance for Community Change (YACC Ghana), a community-based and youth-led organization, has held a mentorship workshop to inspire hope in pupils of Yaru Junior High School in the Wa East District of the Upper West Region.
The workshop, held over the weekend, was in commemoration of International Mentoring Day observed every January 17 to raise awareness about the power and impact of mentorship.
Addressing the pupils, the Volunteer-In-Chief of YACC Ghana, Mr. Aminu Ibrahim said mentorship plays a critical role in the life of an individual as it helps the person to reach his or her goals under good guidance and wise counsel.
He noted that through mentorship, an individual gets people in his or her life who care about them, believe in them, motivate them, encourage them, and help them to grow.
“A mentor is someone who guides you, supports you and inspires you to reach your potential and navigate the challenges of life.
“He/she is someone you can talk to for advice when you are in a challenging situation, he/she can guide you, and they can recommend to you opportunities that can help build you up,” he said.
Mr. Ibrahim said mentorship was especially important in the area of education because it helps one to make appropriate choices of career paths and courses to pursue as one goes up the educational ladder.
He encouraged the pupils to set goals and seek out mentors who would help in guiding and directing them towards the attainment of the set goals.
The workshop also featured story-sharing sessions by mentors whose stories served to inspire the pupils to go after their aspirations.
Sharing her story, Ms. Museidatu Alhassan, Programmes Manager for YACC Ghana and mentor for the session, encouraged the pupils to prioritize acquiring formal education and stay focused on achieving their educational goals.
She told the pupils not to be limited by the present circumstances they may find themselves but that they should leverage mentorship to overcome those challenges and make the good out of such circumstances.
“They say, what is chasing you determines your speed. So look at what is ahead of you, your goal for the future, and then make every positive effort at achieving the goal,” she said.
She implored the pupils to learn from the stories shared and take responsibility for their actions first before other people come to their assistance.
The pupils were also taken through a goal-setting session where they set goals for themselves and pasted them on the walls of their classrooms to serve as a constant reminder each time they walked in and out of the classroom.
Mr Mustapha Kapuori Issah, the Chairman of the School Management Committee (SMC), praised the mentorship workshop as he believed that it would help turn the pupils for the better.
While sharing his story too, he advised the pupils to cut unnecessary lifestyles off their lives, be humble and open to learning, stay guided by their goals for a good future, and seek mentorship to enhance their growth.
The pupils expressed gratitude for the workshop and optimism that it would help them to attain the best out of their education.
While they pledged to improve their attendance at school which they identified as a challenge, they also lamented over the lack of adequate classroom furniture and accommodation for their teachers.
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