A normal day with Nneka Youth Foundation…
…does not exist. Every single day so far has been a unique experience, unique encounters with other NGOs, supporting companies, family members who support the foundation with the same passion as its founder and director Madam Cecilia Fiaka.
But if there was a normal day, it would start at 7.30am with a long drive out of Accra to Afienya, a community in the Greater Accra region. This is where the Nneka Youth Foundation (and its founding family) has its base. The commute takes 1,5 to 2 hours, but for someone who’s never been to Ghana before, every day hosts spectacular views along the road, some funny, some sad, some pretty, some ugly. To make it all a little more fun, we take record of the craziest thing we see someone carrying on their head (we’ve seen tanks, suitcases, I’m yet waiting to see a goat…).
At 9am we get together in the office with Ms Cecilia and the other brain of the foundation, Delalorm Fiaka, around breakfast we have lively discussions, ask lots of questions about the foundation, the children they reach, general questions about Ghana, the education system, and Cecilia and Delalorm are never short of success stories to tell about girls that they have successfully secured school sponsorhips for. I did not know before this trip that high school was not free in Ghana, and am shocked that in Germany we all get to go to school for free, but here in Ghana, where incomes are much lower, people have to pay for basic education on top! The new government has set free school education on its programme, so we are anxious to follow the results over the next years.
On a day where there are no meetings (which is the exception), out great team of consultants, Stephanie, Mack and myself, start analysing the foundation’s communication strategy, the channels it uses, how it puts forward its mission, what are the existing and potential stakeholders in terms of funding, volunteering, participation. We have already come up in our discussions with lots of ideas to transmit to Nneka over the next 4 weeks to give them a great setup in terms of communication to ensure they can expand the reach of their NGO widely over the next years. The foundation is currently only operating in two regions, but there are 8 other regions with too many children that drop out of school early and miss chances for a better life because of it, so Nneka has made it as its plan for the next years to reach as many other children as possible across the country. Which needs funding, of course, it needs human capital, it needs support and visibility. Which is why we are here to help.
The learning effect from such a collaboration between three consultants from the corporate world, and the three great minds leading the NGO, is tremendous, for all parties involved. And Nneka youth foundation has been so grateful for us being here since day one, you can thus imagine that we are welcomed every day with smiles and hugs. What a nice way to start any working day!
Today another exciting day starts, as we are leaving the office to go out on a “field trip” for 3 days into the Volta region (south-east of Ghana). There we will visit some of the villages where Nneka has hosted summer camps, we will join children in an afternoon crafts workshop that the foundation organizes, as well as a morning leadership session that is organized to empower young children to believe in their full potential and continue their education. We will also meet the district Director of Education, a key player in any district to enable Nneka’s work at all.
Hence I am expecting to be offline for 3 days, but for my mind, eyes and ears to be filled with wonderful experiences in this rural area of Ghana where Nneka Youth Foundation has already been able to reach thousands of children with programmes to reduce school drop-out rate.
To be continued…
