9 Girls Honoured at maiden 'I MADE IT' Awards

Smile for Child, Ghana organized its maiden I Made It awards at a short, but impressive ceremony on Friday, 4th September, 2020 at the Visual Arts Department of St Monica’s Senior High School (SHS), Asante-Mampong.

I Made It (one of the three main projects of Smile for Child, Ghana; a registered Non-Governmental Organisation) is a mentoring and grooming programme with a mission to develop the confidence and self-esteem of SHS girls to enable them pursue their future endeavours with vim and enthusiasm. The programme started with 10 girls but only nine Made It to the end of the first phase.

In attendance were parents and family members of the nine girls, management and staff of the school, some old students, the media, staff and friends of Smile for Child, Ghana.

Ms Gifty Nimo, representing the House staff was excited for the girls and congratulated them for making it to the end of the rigorous grooming, which she anticipated would assist them in the near future.

The sanitation team, made up of four members of staff, supervised the girls during their community service project. Mr Emmanuel Buasilenu, a member of the sanitation team in charge of organic waste and head of the Science department of the school, worked directly with the girls on the plastic and organic waste projects and is of the opinion that whatever the girls learnt has built in them a sense of purpose, humility and resilience to carry them into the future.

Mrs Hassan Duker, the senior housemistress of the school worked directly with the Executive Director of Smile for Child, Ghana and expressed her gratitude to the organization for positively turning the lives of the girls around.

The parents voiced their profound appreciation to the organisers for investing in the lives of their children and expressed their hope that their children would also give back to society what they have received.

The girls shared their three-year experiences with the gathering;

“I was very shy when I was selected to join the programme. I could not have been able to stand in front of you but I am doing that right now and I am extremely grateful to Smile for Child, Ghana”, reflected Adomba.

“We were made to read the book, 'The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born'. I was excited with the title of the book. However, the title has nothing in common with the content. Reading the book was very difficult but the vocabulary was great. I learnt a lot”, reminisced Oparebea.

All the house staff, sanitation and the school’s management teams were appreciated by the organization for their contributions towards programme.

Each of the nine girls received a certificate of participation in the community service project centred on recycling plastic and organic waste.

They also received a laptop each to ease their transition into their next phase of life. In addition, they will be mentored by career ladies in the UK, USA and Ghana for the next four years.

The Headmistress, Ms Esther Ntodwah, used the opportunity to express her sincere appreciation on behalf of the Board of Governors, staff and students, especially the beneficiaries, to Smile for Child, Ghana. She thanked the Executive Director of Smile for Child, Ghana, an alum of the school, for her special contribution to her alma mater to groom the young girls for the future.

She said, “Young girls are particularly vulnerable, and it is important to befriend them, establish emotional connections with them and prepare them for social service for the future.”

Smile for Child, Ghana is excited by the success of these girl and looks forward to seeing great things from them.