The Skills I learnt from the Award have also built me into a successful entrepreneur. I am now a professional photographer at Snaprint & Mandy O. Photography. Snaprint has been running successfully for 11 years now. I also offered hair styling services to clients for a period in New York. The Award does not just build young people up for life, it builds a strong community.

I joined the Award Scheme in 2001 when it was introduced to us at Accra Academy. I was motivated to join because I saw it to be a life changing experience. Through the Award, I develop my leadership qualities, performing various leadership roles in developing other young people. I am successful at what I do today at work because of the exposure, experiences and lessons from the Award.

During our adventurous journey at Adawso, my colleagues and I after witnessing the poor living conditions of the inhabitants later mobilized and donated assorted items like hospital beds, medicine, stretchers, cement bags, etc. to the people in the community. This experience has taught me to be appreciative for whatever I have. It has also opened my heart to finding ways of helping the needy in society in my own small way, thanks to the Award.

As part of my Award journey at the Takoradi Senior High School, I got the opportunity to volunteer as a nursing assistant at the Kwesimintim Hospital. The mentorship I received from the staff of that facility made me develop so much love for the nursing profession and decided to pursue it as a career. I am currently a proud nurse and the Co-founder of ‘Gyamfua Sickle Cell Foundation’, born out of my personal encounter with sickle cell patients in their moment of crises as a nurse. I desire to create more awareness about sickle cell disease among the youth.

Whiles in Takoradi Senior High School, I had the opportunity to identify my passion and potentials as part of my Award journey. I spent my leisure time learning how to code and today I am a proud co-owner of the Live On mobile app. Today, I am working with my team on an application that seeks to help prevent and reduce the fatality rate of road accidents in Ghana. Through this project, we desire to help save lives.

Participating in the award program was fun and educative. It taught me the spirit of adventure and selflessness as a person which has been very useful in my career. I’m currently a Clinical Psychologist and look forward to helping other award participants in any way possible by way of giving back to the community.

The Award experience was very self-revealing as I pushed myself physically and mentally to limits I thought I would never be able to reach. Overcoming my fears of heights and water to participate in the abseiling and the capsize drill, respectively, showed me that I am truly capable of achieving anything. Lessons learnt during some activities were the importance of effective leadership and teamwork in achieving goals.