At the celebration of the success of the first training batch of ‘Impact Wave Initiative Mentorship Programme,’ president and founder of Impact Wave Initiative, Ms. Eunice Golloh, mentioned that “effective mentoring is a game-changer” for the development of youths.
Over the last nine months, seventeen women from Ghana, Liberia, Kenya and across the African continent participated in the Impact Wave Initiative Mentorship Programme.
The programme covered three types of mentoring: group mentoring, where a single mentor matches a batch of mentees; distance mentoring, where the mentor and mentee are in different places; and the traditional one-on-one mentoring.
The idea behind the programme according to Ms. Golloh was that mentoring gives young people the assurance that someone values them, that they are not alone in overcoming obstacles in their daily lives, and that they are important. Since mentors offer mentees personalised career counselling and advice to help them navigate the workplace and make wise career decisions.
“Research shows that mentors play a powerful role in providing young people with the tools to make responsible choices, stay in school and engage in their communities. Ultimately, mentoring connects a young person to personal growth and development and social and economic opportunities. Yet one in three young people will grow up without this critical asset,” said Ms. Golloh at the event.
She is a Senior Cybersecurity Analyst by profession. She’s also the CEO and president of HKG IT Consulting. As a Ghanaian-American, she earned her B.A. degree in Economics & Chemistry from Ohio Wesleyan University and her M.A. in Cybersecurity Policy & Management from University of Maryland Global Campus. She is currently completing her D.Sc. in Cybersecurity at Marymount University.
Her nonprofit, Impact Wave Initiative is a women-driven 501(c)(3) organization that has committed to helping young women develop their abilities and talents so they can become global change-makers and meaningfully contribute to the development of their respective communities and countries.
“I can confidently say that the Impact Wave Initiative mentorship program has been a game-changer for these amazing young women who are ready to take on the world and make the most of the knowledge acquired over the period”, she emphasized.
Ms. Golloh thinks young adults are more vulnerable to societal issues which can occasionally have impact on their mental and physical well-being. Additionally, they are dealing with new and distinct societal issues with the rise of social media age. Because of their digital lifestyle, many young adults now lack the fundamental, interpersonal communication skills, according to Ms. Golloh.
Because of these factors, Ms. Golloh believes mentorship has never been more crucial. She claims that youth mentoring improves young people’s general well-being, education, personal and interpersonal developments.
“Mentorship has existed as early as Ancient Greek in Europe then became widespread in the 1970s in the United States, mainly in training contexts, associated with important historical links to the movement advancing workplace equity for women and minorities and was described as an innovation in American management. It was described as the guidance, or direction given by a mentor, someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person,” she said.
According Ms. Golloh, mentors unquestionably have a significant impact on giving young people the skills they need to make good decisions, attend school, and participate in their communities. She said that youth who have a mentor are 55% more likely to enrol in college, 55% to 78% more likely to volunteer frequently, and they are also more likely to make better decisions.
She also announced that her company is ready to start the procedures necessary to enrol the second batch of the Impact Wave Initiative Mentorship Programme in 2024. The nine-month mentorship programme will begin its application and selection process from January 2024, and will commence in July 2024.
Ms. Golloh invited any young woman between the ages of 18 and 30 who wanted to take their lives and professions to the next level to contact the organisation. Visit https://iiwave.org/ to learn more.
Source: TheAfricanDream.net
Abeeb Lekan Sodiq is a Managing Editor & Writer at theafricandream.net. He is as well a Graphics Designer and also known as Arakunrin Lekan.
