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 shared invaluable insights and personal experiences into their careers and the opportunities that exist within these fields.
In her opening remarks, Director of Legal and External Affairs at Telecel Ghana, Augusta Akushika Andrews, noted that 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,” Mrs Andrews urges.
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.
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,” Mrs Da-Silva advised.
Moreover, the initiative also received strong support from local authorities like Municipal Director of Education for Ayawaso East, Dr William Tsekpo, who said the mentorship sessions for young girls were crucial in improving their academic seriousness and molding them into responsible professionals in the future.
“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.”
In addition to the mentorship sessions, the pupils were gifted stationery kits, including a mathematical set, pack of writing books and Telecel branded souvenirs
BY TIMES REPORTER