CAMFED Ghana marks decade of Scholars Program with Change Makers Congress

CAMFED Ghana is marking a decade of the Scholars Program with a Change Makers Congress being held at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, from September 17-24, 2023.

This year’s Congress which is on the theme, “A Decade of Impact”, seeks to demonstrate the significant achievements of the Scholars Program, and is being organised to, among others, groom scholars and alumnae to become transformative leaders and support them to hone their soft and leadership skills as they transition from school. It will host the final cohort of 563 tertiary scholars and over 400 alumnae throughout the week.

The Scholars Program is a 10-year partnership between CAMFED Ghana and the Mastercard Foundation. It is underpinned by shared values and commitment to the provision of quality education and comprehensive support to academically gifted young women in the rural communities within CAMFED’s operational regions.

The objectives of the Scholars Program are to raise social, political and business leaders for the African continent, to unlock the potential of a critical mass of academically-bright yet disadvantaged girls and young women from rural Ghana through secondary and tertiary education, enrichment and service leadership opportunities. The Scholars Program is also designed to build a network of visionary educators at second cycle schools and universities who share the objective of inclusive, equitable and high-quality education. It also aims to provide a unique platform to create an alumnae network that catalyzes the transformative power of individual scholars.

The Scholars Program was designed to provide opportunities for 4,000 and 1,640 young women to attend and complete secondary and tertiary education respectively. Under the umbrella of the Program, CAMFED organized, among others, the leadership and enrichment camps for Secondary Scholars, head-start orientation for Tertiary Scholars, instituted and deepened engagements with Teacher Mentors and heads of schools, and convened the Annual Research Seminar and Learning Summit.

In her welcome address at the opening ceremony, Fairuza Safian, National Director of CAMFED Ghana, stated that to indicate that the 10-year implementation of the Scholars Program has been a decade of impact is an under-statement. She added that it has been a decade of investment in the lives of young women that has yielded monumental, life-changing impact. Scholars Alumnae are leading action on the big challenges their families, communities and country face - from child marriage, and girls’ exclusion from education to climate change, the Scholars Alumnae network of teachers, nurses, doctors, IT experts, lawyers, engineers, sustainable agriculture experts, and entrepreneurs is growing every year as more girls complete school and join them.

Ms. Safian also added that over the last 10 years of implementation, CAMFED has partnered with secondary and tertiary institutions to support the program. The organisation has also worked with the Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service, and other partners in the implementation of the diverse components of the program, including the flagship Annual Research Seminar and Learning Summit. She expressed profound gratitude to the Mastercard Foundation for the partnership with CAMFED on the transformative program. She also expressed appreciation to the secondary and tertiary institutions for hosting the scholars and for providing the enabling environment for their education. Ms Safian also thanked the Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service, and a host of individuals and organisations for their partnership and support for implementation.

As part of the Congress, participants will benefit from carefully tailored activities including a career fair, work-readiness skills development including CV clinics, planning for community service and mental wellbeing, networking, team building, health screening, as well as alumnae conversations.