A few weeks ago, my good friend Rebecca called me from the UK and literally ordered me to clear my diary and report to her hometown, Twifo Hemang, in the Central Region, on Tuesday, February 6. 

To her surprise and mine, I meekly agreed without question and made the necessary arrangements at work. She was flying into town with some professional friends who lived in the UK, USA and Kenya.

It was all about a charity named We Were Once Them (WeWOT), set up by some professional friends of hers as a beacon of hope to share their stories and inspire the next generation of African and Caribbean youth through Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Having noted a dearth of role models for schoolchildren in her hometown to help them aspire to great heights, Rebecca was delighted to introduce the team to the community.

 It is intended to be an annual project that provides material support as well.

Time with children

Monday evening found me in Cape Coast, one of my favourite places in this country, for its quaint, old charm and sense of history.

After a few drinks with some old friends I caught up with, and a rather quiet night, I set off on Tuesday morning for Twifo Hemang, about an hour’s drive north of Cape Coast and past the Kakum National Park.

The event was to take place on the premises of the Twifo Hemang Senior High Technical School, and the audience of over three hundred included both senior high and junior high school children, together with some teachers, spilling over into canopies mounted outside.

The headmistress of the school and the District Director of Education were also in attendance.

Together with Rebecca and the other guests who had arrived to be part of this project, we laughed with them, shared our stories, encouraged them to share their dreams, inspired them to reach for the skies and gave out some gifts after a spontaneous quiz.

They were particularly thrilled by the story of Mr Riley Bertram, a pilot with United Airlines, who turned up in uniform. I am sure a few piloting dreams were sown in some young fertile minds that day.

After over two hours that felt like twenty minutes, it was time to wrap up.

 It had been a fantastic time with the kids.

The other team members had other engagements in the town around the project but I had to dash back to Accra that afternoon for work the following day.

Reflections

I could not help but reflect on the experience as I made my way back to Accra and its daily grind.

Unfortunately, in our society, two children born on opposite ends of the social spectrum are unlikely to cross paths in their lifetimes on an equal or even near-equal pedestal.

We need deliberate effort to grow social mobility, such that the girl from a public basic school in Twifo Hemang has a decent chance of getting into Wesley Girls High School just down the road and eventually becoming a surgeon, just as her counterpart from say, Christ the King School in Accra.

Otherwise, our society will remain an inherently unjust one where opportunity is determined by the accident of one’s birth.

Beyond policy initiatives such as the provision of adequate resources including infrastructure and teaching and learning materials, improving access and others, the right mindset in a child can make a world of difference.

That is why it is important to nurture the can-do spirit in children so that they can be whatever they want to be if they apply themselves.

As I reminded the children when it was my turn to speak, our first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, was born and bred in humble settings in Nkroful.

Yet, he powered his way out all the way to reach the heights he did through the power of education and a fierce determination to bring down the walls of his comfort zone.

Chances are that a child in Twifo Hemang or similar settings may not have many adults in the community to look up to in pursuing their educational dreams. This is why I think this project was terribly important, and seeing the hope and excitement on the young faces told me it had been worth travelling all the way from Accra to be there. 

I believe our educated professionals in particular, both at home and abroad, ought to do more to reach out to the young ones in our disadvantaged communities through our churches, professional groups, other voluntary bodies and small projects like WeWOT, to mentor them and help inspire them to reach for the stars.

Our society will be more just when we have a better-educated citizenry.

I will definitely be back in Twifo Hemang next year.

Rodney Nkrumah-Boateng,
Head, Communications & Public Affairs Unit,
Ministry of Energy.