Mentors of the US Ghana Alumni Association (UGSHAA) mentorship program have reiterated the need for the youth to be coached on educational and career paths.
They said coaching would make them better people to contribute effectively to nation building.
Ohenyere Gifty Anti, Virginia Ginny Elliot, and Lieutenant Commander Kofi Amponsah Duodu, all underscored the essence of mentorship career development in an interview with the Ghana News Agency.
The first cohort of 50 (25 mentors and 25 mentees) are part of a pool of 3,000 Ghanaian Association members who would through a two-year training from educational, cultural, and professional exchange programmes from the US.
Ohenyere Gifty Anti, Patron of the Mentorship Program, said there was a need for leaders to sacrifice to guide the youth to become nation-builders.
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She said: “We need to sacrifice [for them] and be committed in mentoring them. It’s tough, draining and time consuming, but that is what it will take to make Ghana a better place for all of us.”
She added that, “We need to learn from each other [as mentors and mentees] because the youth of today are not like the youth of my time. There are a lot of things that have come out that we need to learn from. ”
Lieutenant Commander Duodu, a mentor, said it was important “for mentors to avail themselves to mentees and not impose their beliefs on people.” The mentees should also not end up going to their mentors with a wish list. ”
He urged the youth to invest in improving upon themselves and cautioned them against “get rich quick attitudes.”
Go thru the arduous process, and the only short cut to that is to have mentors who will take you thru what they’ve gone thru to achieve what you want to achieve. There’s no quick fix solution to making it in life. ”
Ms Elliot, the Public Affairs Counselor for the US Embassy, Ghana, encouraged beneficiaries of the programme to “show up, fulfill their potentials and find the power Association in the professional career.”
She said the mentorship program formed part of efforts to deepen Ghana-US relations and pledged the Embassy’s support to make it sustainable.
Ms Feruzah Wuniche Salisu, Projects and Programme Secretary, USGHAA, said the programme was to create a platform where young Alumni would tap into the experiences of career and professional Association members to better their lives.
She said that they were hoping that the mentorship program, which was launched over the weekend in Accra, would enable younger alumni to gain a lot of skills from their mentors.
SOURCE: GNA
