ACFELLOWS GHANA- PROJECT PLANNING- ACLeads Event.

The meet up event was taken very seriously by the team. The planning towards this program was very effective and lead to a successful end. The planning started online when a team coordinator was selected to basically manage and put things together. After a few online meetings, a section of the team was able to make it to a venue where discussions were deepened, conclusions made and tasks disseminated, after which members on the WhatsApp platform were updated of new developments. Effective communication was the key stimulus during the planning process as most of the team member were far from each other geographically. The planning brought to the table aspects like branding, logistics, refreshments, partnerships, transportation and resource mobilization. All these were tasks given to all members and reported accordingly.

      

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

After a few deliberations, members agreed on organizing a girl child education and career mentorship program as the meet up event. This conclusion was influenced by the obvious gap of career mentorship identified by the team and was unanimously agreed upon. The project targeted educating the students about their career goals and objectives, and most importantly, empowering the girls to take advantage of opportunities around them. Details of the program can be observed in the next section- ACTIVITIES.

ACTIVITIES
The program was divided in to three sessions;

The first session was the general talk where all ACFellows shared their experiences and unique stories with the participating students. Stories that has never been told, secrets of their success and the greatest challenges ever faced, were consistent in the stories that were told by the AC Fellows. Even though it was a session of emotional attachment and motivation, there was enough space for some fun and hilarious activities and stories.
The second sessions was a break-out session based on gender. Both the ACFellows and students were put into groups of male and female for the ‘Boys and Gils Talk’. The objective of this section was to allow some room for the students to feel free and discuss all the issues that they were afraid to talk about, knowing very well that no one was going to know about it, not even their teacher were allowed to participate in this session. Some of the issues discussed were; Sex education, underage drinking and time management.
The third session saw another re-grouping of participants based on career objectives. There were students in groups based on what area of the working space they aspire to be. Some of these groups were; STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), Communication and entertainment, Education and Sports, Legal and Arts and Business and Entrepreneurship. Fellows joined the groups based on their professional experience to interact with the students. Discussions evolved around the following; opportunities in the chosen career, challenges, processes, prospects, importance and motivation.
At the end of the day, students were refreshed and a few prices were given to outstanding ones. The day ended with a photo session with students and teachers.

IMPACTS
The Following are a few impacts that has been observed as a result of this Meet up event;

General Talk

• Young girls were inspired and motivated to do their best and climb to the highest level of their dreams without feeling inferior. Boys were made to understand the need to give their girls the chance and support them in whatever they do.
• The participating students were inspired by the stories shared by most of the ACFellows. Some students have now become permanent mentees of some ACFellows.

Girls’ and Boys’ Talk

• Students freely shared their bad experiences with underage drinking of alcohol and sex to refrain others from indulging in them. All participants from both groups vowed to live a responsible life and make the right decisions for themselves by consulting their teacher and parents.
• Teachers made commitments to discuss such issues with students and understand their need in order to address them.

Career Mentorship

• Students were made to research more about the specific field they have chosen for themselves and discuss them with their teachers and mentors.
• Teachers made commitments to discuss such issues with students and understand their need in order to address them.

EVALUATION

ACFellows have kept a constant communication with teachers to assess improvement in the lives of the participating students and to ensure that what has been taught to them is being put to practice.

GALLERY

Please click the link bellow to access event pictures: https://bit.ly/2H30QWy

CONCLUSION

The AC Leads meet up event has become platform for creating impacts in communities and an innovative way of linking brilliant African mind together to make the continent a better place to be. The event was successful and worth the time and efforts.