Sponsorship letters

As you might know, sponsorship letters were handed out to the junior mentors who attended yesterdays meeting. During the meeting, we discussed the procedure for handing out the letters. The guidelines are:

• Junior and senior mentors should only hand out letters to people they know personally
• Mentors should let Foundation staff know where they are taking the letter to before they do so
• Once a letter has been delivered, mentors should please let Foundation staff know so that no one else goes back to the same place
• If more letters are required, mentors can contact the Foundation for another one. This will be given provided that the person they are going to ask has not been given one before

If you were not present at the meeting, you can drop a comment, call or send an email and we will work on getting one to you.

Deadline approaching: CIPE Essay Contest

If you were thinking of entering the 2010 CIPE Youth Essay Contest that I mentioned earlier last month, you might want to start working on it now if you haven't done so already. The deadline is coming up in 5 weeks time.

To remind you, the titles are:

1. Democracy that delivers
2. Entrepreneurship and society
3. Women and participation

You can click here for more information as to how to go about answering each title. All entries should be between 2000 and 3000 words in length, and should be submitted online via the official submission page on their website by the 18th of June.

All the best!

News for mentors

This is a quick post to remind mentors that we're having a meeting this Monday. The meeting is for all junior and senior mentors, so please make it a point to be there. We're going to be deciding on the initiative we will implement to help encourage and motivate Kinbu students to read more. Please come ready to share your thoughts on which idea you think will be most effective and why. If you've not had a look at the ideas we came up with in our previous meeting, click here or refer to the minutes that were emailed to you on on Tuesday.

We will also be handing out sponsorship letters during this meeting so that we can kick-start the fundraising process. We have to raise over GH¢ 30,000 by the end of June at the latest - so we need to get the ball rolling as soon as possible.

Finally, due to the fact that most of you are busy with exams at this time, the deadline for submitting the Appraisal Forms has been extended until Friday 4th June**. Please ensure that you have completed them by then as the deadline cannot be extended past this date. If you have already completed some (or all) of the Forms, you can still bring them along to the meeting on Monday.

See you all then!


** Because this deadline has shifted, you'll need to arrange to discuss them with a member of the Foundation staff from the week beginning on the 7th of June. If, however, you have already completed the Appraisal Forms for all your mentees, you can arrange for a meeting prior to this date.

We've been reading...

The nation full of strong women
NY Times -- When she pleaded for her life, as taunting rebel soldiers vowed to bury her alive, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, now the Liberian president, remembers defending herself with her most basic strength: “You can’t do this. Think of your mother.” To this day, she is not sure why they spared her, but since she was jailed in a coup uprising in 1980 and later watched Liberia shattered in a bloody 14-year civil war, Mrs. Sirleaf has turned to mothers and women for popular support and to rebuild a country that essentially failed...

World movement for democracy: Dealing with corruption
CIPE Blog -- At the Sixth biennial assembly of the World Movement for Democracy, this year held in Jakarta, Indonesia, I heard a recurring theme in many of the workshops and conversations in between sessions – corruption is a large and growing problem for democracies around the world. Corruption effects established and emerging democracies in strikingly similar ways; it decreases the legitimacy of existing institutions and creates a high level of cynicism among voters. Perhaps the issue was always there, but advances in information technology and greater access to a multitude of channels of communication has brought the issue out of the shadows...

Leaders
BBC -- Leaders are strategic thinkers, planning ahead and anticipating difficulties. They quickly spot inefficiency and organise people to make improvements. Leaders like solving problems at the organisational level, but would rather leave the detailed work to others. Leaders enjoy discussing complex issues and will challenge people's views to spark a debate. They admire people who defend their beliefs by arguing persuasively...

Lead:ology - What is leadership?
Leading Blog -- “If leadership is defined as ...” began an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal. Most leadership definitions have an agenda. This is not to say they are bad, but that they reflect the bias of the writer. Narrow and sometimes cumbersome definitions may help to make a point or clarify what the writer considers good leadership should be, but they shortchange our understanding of leadership overall. The fact that there are so many and assorted definitions of leadership speaks to the very human aspect of leadership. It is as varied as there are leaders and leadership needs. A good definition needs to allow many perspectives. It should create awareness. It should include leaders at all levels...

Developing a culture of reading

Last night, the Library campaign group and members of the Support Team met to discuss ways in which we could develop a culture of reading amongst Kinbu students. Like I mentioned earlier, it's all well and good renovating the library, but if the students do not use it our efforts would have been in vain.

We met in order to brainstorm both ways we could motivate students to go to the library (aside from the refurbishment) and also to make reading in general something of a habit. We came up with quite a few ideas, and now we need to pick one main area to focus our energies on. 'Minor' initiatives that will not require too much initial effort to start up can run alongside the main idea. It has to be something sustainable so it can run without Databank Foundation needing to be there at all times (or every time it needs to be run).

We'd like to open up the discussion to all the groups of the Programme. Here is a list of the ideas we came up with:

--> Termly quizzes/competitions based on set books. Internal (within Kinbu) and external (involving other schools) reading competitions
--> Book/library club - Members get exclusive benefits, i.e. watch movies, go on trips etc based on attendance to meetings
--> Notice board in library – announces local essay competitions, new books (reviews), etc. Students have to go into the library in order to check it
--> Have speakers periodically come and talk to students about the importance of reading (e.g. Ama Ata Aidoo). Can also show movies that demonstrate this (e.g. The Book Club, The Debaters)
--> Arrange books in order of difficulty. A ‘reading marathon’ could then be introduced. Students must finish one book before advancing to the next. Can create positive competitiveness
--> Library ‘scavenger hunt’ – event where students must hunt to find specific items in the library
--> Kinbu could join Readwide Club
--> Create a writers and debaters club
--> Organise drama productions based on specific books
--> Reading linked to grades, i.e. have an exam/section of an exam based on a book
--> The library could be emphasised at orientation – new SH1 students could be given a tour of library and encouraged to join the library club
--> Games competitions (e.g. scrabble) twice a term. First prize could be one term’s fees paid, second prize a scrabble game, third prize a citation… etc. There should be a reading based qualification system; the more students read, the more prizes they are eligible to apply for

Which do you think is the most practical, effective and sustainable idea? We'll be meeting up again this Monday (17th May) at Databank at 5pm, and we should reach a decision by then. In the meantime, especially if you're part of the Clean Up campaign or the Support Team (formerly the School Fair campaign), please leave comments with your suggestions. If you prefer, you could email me or Elinam instead.

Mini Seminar: The Power of Positive Thinking

As you might know, we had a mini seminar for mentees today (Friday 7th May) on the Power of Positive Thinking. The seminar was led by Mr K. B. Nyantekyi Owusu, a business consultant with a passion for the youth and youth development.

Unfortunately, we were unable to start at the allocated time, and many mentees left before we had a chance to speak with them. It was nonetheless a great seminar. Mr Owusu spoke with enthusiasm and purpose, first engaging the mentees by asking for their take on the words 'power', 'positive', and 'thinking'. From the answers he was given, you could tell Mr Owusu had already set his audience thinking. He went on to give an enlightening overview of how the power of thought affects our lives. The heart of the message was based around the idea "as a man thinketh, so is he".

After the seminar was over, we had a brief session for mentors to have a chat with their mentees.

As promised, you can find a short clip from the seminar below. For photos, see the previous post (or click here).

Mini Seminar: Photos

Here are some photos from the mini seminar we had today. I'll post a brief rundown of the days events and maybe a video soon, so look out for those!

Library Campaign: Budget update

We've received the amended budget, and although it has been whittled down considerably, it still stands rather high at GH¢32,000. It's quite a lot, but we hope we'll be able to meet (or at least come close to) the target. We have till the end of June to raise everything we can, so we'll just have to work as hard as we can until then.

With the budget now confirmed, the sponsorship letter is complete and will be given to all junior and senior mentors. If you have a particular person or organisation you'd like to approach and need a sponsorship letter, you can shoot me an email at either infoYLMP@gmail.com or odoley90@hotmail.com and I'll get one to you. Alternatively if you are a member of this blog, you can simply comment on this post. Please note that if you are not affiliated with the YLMP or Databank, your request will have to be reviewed and approved by the Programme Manager before a letter can be sent.

We're also trying to get the mentees involved in raising funds so they feel like they are a part of the project. 'Support cards' have been created and will be distributed to them this Friday at the mini seminar. They contain a few details about the Programme and what it is we're hoping to get done. Although we're not expecting to raise a significant amount from this, we hope that the mentees will be able to get involved and feel a sense of pride in playing an integral role and making a practical contribution towards project.

In the meantime, we also have to think about projects we can start in order to create a culture of reading among Kinbu students. It's all very well and good refurbishing the library, but if students are not in the habit of reading our efforts will have been in vain. Once again if you have any ideas, just let me know and I'll pass the information on.

Plastic waste management: How you can help

The following is an article on plastic waste management written by Aba Tetteh, one of our senior mentors. Thanks for your contribution Aba!


When they first came in they were great. Thinking about convenience and affordability, we ignored the havoc it could also create: the Menace of Plastic.

Less than five years ago, the use of plastic was not the norm; now, you cannot buy anything without being given a plastic container or bag to put it in. It is important to note that despite the fact that plastics have made life easier for us in terms of being convenient and affordable, plastics do not disintegrate or decompose easily, and as a result we are battling with how to get rid of our plastic waste in an environmentally friendly way.

Here, I seek to illustrate some things we as individuals can do to manage our plastic waste. In the absence of a nationwide management of waste, we can reduce our plastic use by following simple principles of management.

As a nation, we need to learn how to sort out our refuse. Sorting makes it easier for waste management companies to pick up our waste and recycle it without having to pay extra for people to sort them out. Ghanaians are willing and able to dispose of rubbish in containers that are provided, and this is evident by the fact that when waste bins are packed with waste that have not been picked up, most people still go out of their way to cramp rubbish into the container. When we get into the habit of sorting out our waster materials, the two recycling companies we have operating in the Ghana, namely, Ghana Waste Recycling and Zoomlion Ghana Limited, will find it easier to pick up the sorted plastic waste. Getting people to adapt a habit is tedious especially if there is a lackadaisical attitude about it. It is a matter of principle, self-awareness and individual policing. In order for this change to take place, we will have to inculcate the habit of sorting our rubbish, starting in our schools and homes.

In the meantime, we can look at reducing our use of plastics by applying the 3R’s: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. How many times do you buy stuff from the market or while walking in town? How do you normally carry such an item or items? Is it in your handbag, carrier bag etc, anything reusable? Oh, here is a thought, you probably would buy a plastic bag or be given a plastic bag by the seller; this is what we would typically do. When we get home, we throw the plastic bag away without a second thought. How about instead of throwing that bag away, we fold it up and keep it stored away. Plastic bags vary in texture and durability. You can use the less durable bags to line your rubbish containers or for wrapping certain items. With the more durable plastic bags, you can reuse them as carrier bags. Remember to keep a carefully folded plastic bag in your handbag or wallet ready for use whenever you find that you need it. This bag can be used for about four or more times before being finally discarded.