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Honouring young achievers: meet some women on philanthropic mission
All is set for the announcement of the top ‘Forty under 40 Achievers’ for year 2022, later today at Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City in Accra.
The award would be conferred on nominated young people with the highest public votes in each of the categories. A fortnight ago, the focus was on some of the candidates selected randomly from all 40 categories.
This week, the spotlight is on the women competing in the Philanthropy and Charity Category, as provided by the organisers. There is more to follow after we know who wins what at the main event.
Ms Henritta Somuah
Popularly known as Nhyiraba Herty, she is the Founder of Touching Lives Outreach International, a registered entity which has been operating for over 10 years. She holds Higher National Diploma (HND) in Accounting from Takoradi Technical University (TTU).
Henritta reaches out to orphans, women and girls, street children and underprivileged persons. Through her educational and vocational training projects, many girls and vulnerable youth have acquired vocational skills while others have also established small scale businesses to support themselves and their families.
Some children she had helped rescue from the streets had been enrolled in her charity school called Touching Lives Educational Complex which provides free tuition, while supporting some of the beneficiaries to further their education to the secondary and tertiary levels.
The initiative had earned her recognition as she has secured land to construct a seven-unit classroom block, vocational training centre for women and girls, a computer lab, and other facilities at Kwei, a remote community in the Western Region of Ghana.
Naa Kuorkor Mayne-Eghan
She holds a degree in Sociology and Economics from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Finance from Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).
She is committed to supporting mothers of sick and premature babies by donating hospital equipment and providing for newborns and their mothers.
She leads ‘The Jay Foundation’ which, in July 2020, built and furnished a new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Mothers’ Shed at the Keta Municipal Hospital. It again donated about GhC 300,000 to NICUs in some hospitals and health facilities across the nation since 2019, mainly to support preterm and sick infants; their mothers and the hospitals.
Some of the hospitals include the Tema General Hospital, Nsawam Government Hospital, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Shai Osudoku Hospital, Keta Municipal Hospital, Banda District Clinic, Bamboi Polyclinic, Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, and Wenchi Methodist Hospital.
In spite of challenges, she and her team continue to lessen the burden on mothers, new borns and facilities they reach out to, across the country.
Ms Esther Tibila
She is an enthusiastic social entrepreneur who founded the Disability Not Inability (DNI) Foundation with a focus on helping people with various forms of physical disabilities, especially children, in the areas of education, health, and entrepreneurship. She is passionate about social inclusion and development.
She holds Master of Arts (MA) in Ports and Shipping Administration in addition to a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Logistics Management from the Regional Maritime University.
Esther believes “everybody has untapped potentials that may never be realised unless they receive the proper instruction, nurturing, and guidance.”
She started the DNI Foundation at age 25 and had since supported over 300 people with disabilities and their families through a number of activities. She has collaborated with organisations such as the Mephibosheth Training Centre at Ankamu near Apam, the Gbi Special School at Hohoe, the Physically Challenged Action Foundation at Offinso, the Gbeogo School for the Deaf at Tongo, the St. Theresah Vocational Training Centre for the Physically Challenged, Abor, and the Good Samaritan Home for Persons with Intellectual Disability at Adidome.
Though she may not be able to reach out to everyone, she has pledged to “influence positively and help transform the lives of those she has come in contact with.”
Through personal and crowd-funding projects, DNI Foundation has been supporting the physically challenged to return to school, acquire a trade, or receive medical treatment.
Ms Faith Aku Senyo
Senyo
Faith is a professional teacher. She holds a Diploma in Basic Education, Bachelor of Education in Home Economics and a Masters in Leadership and Administration.
Her drive to help others was stoked up when she saw the countless hardships that her students and their parents had to endure in order to pursue a better life. Mrs. Senyo has embraced the call to serve with open arms, touched many lives in a positive way, and won the hearts of many more people, including corporate organisations.
She is the proud founder of ‘The Rebranded Lady’, a legally recognised non-governmental organisation dedicated to the overall well-being of women, children, and economically disadvantaged members of society.
The organisation is certain that women empowerment and motivation leads to better homes and a thriving nation, and has, therefore, initiated a number of projects targeted at women and the underprivileged.
Some of the projects include the “Mother of Many Missions,” programme which provides 30 disadvantaged children with food, clothing, and school supplies. The organisation again offers period kits to girls through its “PinkPlate Charity Bundle” initiative.
Madam Sandra Seyram Kpedor, the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Anloga in the Volta Region, has emphasised the importance of parental involvement in children’s education, stating that education is free, but parents need to do more to support their children.
She said parents, teachers, and students must be involved in addressing the challenges facing the district’s education sector, particularly the poor Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results.
Madam Kpedor outlined some key roles parents should play to promote their children’s education, including providing a conducive learning environment, monitoring their children’s progress, and supporting teachers.
The DCE highlighted some challenges the district faced such as inadequate infrastructure and a shortage of teachers, which have also contributed to the poor BECE results and called on well-to-do parent to help solve the situation through and other supports.
To address the issues, she also announced that plans have been taken to utilise the district’s common fund to implement educational projects, such as constructing school blocks and teachers’ bungalows at Sodzi community, and 2-unit classroom blocks each at Akplorwutorkor and Tegbi-Afedome respectively, among others.
Madam Kpedor also noted that her office had earlier notified the Ministry of Education to deploy more teachers to the area to improve teaching and learning, and encouraged students to work hard and strive for excellence, and work beyond their limit to succeed.
“To my wonderful and beautiful girls, you have to know it clear that women and girls have equal opportunities to compete with men for greater achievements,” she indicated.
The DCE cited her own achievement as a testament to the fact that women can excel in leadership positions, alongside Vice President Nana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, and stressed that girls were no longer limited to domestic roles but can pursue their dreams and become leaders.
Additionally, she mentioned that a meeting was held earlier with assembly members, and other stakeholders to address the district’s educational challenges and improve academic performance.
She promised that the district’s education oversight committee and stakeholders would work together to address the challenges and improve the district’s BECE results and called for parental involvement and support to boost the district’s education sector for children to chase their dreams to become future leaders for the success of the district and the nation.
She urged parents not to leave everything to the government but rather help in the provision of some necessary materials such as textbooks, exercise books, pens, pencils, food, and guidance to children for the successes of young learners. –GNA
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The spokesperson for Dr. Bawumia, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, has criticised the implementation of the NDC government’s No Fee Stress policy, arguing that the programme has failed to deliver on its core promise.
According to him on Starr fm, the policy, which was introduced to ensure stress free payment of fees for level 100 tertiary students, has rather turned into what he described as post stress support.
He explained that students are required to pay their fees first before applying for reimbursement, a situation he believes defeats the purpose of the policy.
He questioned claims by government officials that the policy has been successful and that citizens are happy.
In his view, such claims do not reflect the lived realities of many Ghanaians. He stressed that while some people may appear satisfied, many others continue to struggle.
Dennis Miracles Aboagye pointed to the situation of trained teachers and nurses who have been picketing for nearly six months, demanding employment.
He noted that government responses suggesting it cannot accommodate all of them contradict claims of economic stability.
He further argued that economic indicators such as a stable currency mean little to people who are unable to secure jobs or access promised support.
He observed that telling an unemployed teacher or a struggling student that the cedi has strengthened does not address their immediate challenges.
On the issue of tertiary education, he maintained that no level 100 student benefited from stress free fees in 2025, despite the policy being announced.
He added that in 2026, students have already reported to school without receiving the promised support.
He insisted that asking students to pay fees first and seek reimbursement later amounts to support after hardship, not stress free education.
According to him, this approach goes against what was promised during the policy announcement.
Dennis Miracles Aboagye questioned why a government that presents the economy as strong is unable to fulfil what he described as simple and clear promises.
He added that there is a fundamental problem with the way the economy is being managed and indicated that he is prepared to explain his position further.
By: Jacob Aggrey
