Amadu Mohammed: The Achieving Hero Of Change

Compassion, determination and care are a few words that can best describe Amadu Mohammed, the Founder of Achievers Ghana, a leading social institution that focuses on facilitating access to education for disadvantaged youth (especially female) through the provision of scholarships, financial aid and educational materials.

Growing up in abject poverty at Nima and Mamobi, suburbs of Accra, Amadu couldn’t go to senior high school right after completing his junior high school due to financial challenges.

And when the opportunity came for him to make a life out of football, a knee injury ended those hopes too.

But due to the constant encouragement, devotion and guidance from his mother, he went back to his books and finally made it to the polytechnic to study accounting and later got employed at the Barclays Bank.

With regular income, he could now support his family and even further his education. That was when he found himself at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science of Technology (KNUST) where his focus in life changed as a result of the study of Sociology and Social Work.

Despite the burning passion to become a world class accountant, his zeal to make the world a better place for the deprived individual through the study of Social Work and Sociology led him to become who he is today.

With the establishment of the Achievers Ghana, formerly known as Achievers Book Club (ABC), Amadu is constantly working to change the world with one girl child at a time.

“I believe that for the world to be at peace, women and child need to have quality life. A life full of opportunities for a female will help them uncover their potentials and thus lead to a much better and safer world.”

Through Achievers Ghana, deprived children, especially those in the slums, who are prone to all kinds of violent and deviant behaviours are helped to regain meaningful lives through learning how to read and write and also to know about their rights as equal citizens.

Today, with over 250 children under his care, Amadu is looking at a future where all children of the world will grow up in safe and secure environments with equal opportunities, irrespective of one’s background.

Last year, he was adjudged by telecommunications giant, MTN as a hero of change under its umbrella CSR television programme ‘MTN Heroes of Change’.

MTN has recently launched the second season of Heroes of Change, which seeks to recognize Ghanaians who are doing amazing things in their communities, with bigger prize packages for winners.

Currently, nominations are still open for the public to nominate their heroes for the new season either filling an online nomination at heroes.mtn.com.gh , sending an email to heroes.mtn.com.gh or picking a form at any MTN service centre and submitting to any MTN service centre after filling.

The second season will feature the stories of extra ordinary activities of the nominees to be selected across the country and the activities selected should fit into any one of the three focus areas the MTN Ghana Foundation, which are education, health and economic development.

This season will see the overall winner walk away with GH¢100,000, twice the value of the first season winner. Also, those whose projects top the health, education and economic empowerment focus areas will each receive GH¢20,000, whilst the remaining heroes will walk away with GH¢5,000 to help them expand their projects.

With this high level of recognition, Amadu now commands so much respect from all and sundry in the communities in which he works and section of the communities now accept the programmes he rolls out.

“A lot of respect is accorded to me and more parents and family members now bring their children to the center to take part in programmes. More attention is now giving to me when it comes to children affairs in the community. More organizations now come into partnership with the organization to help train the girls to become responsible. The level of recognition to Achievers Ghana is now higher.”

Personally his level of confidence and self belief has also shot up and he now believe that he can do more to help salvage the community and more especially the plight of women and the girl-child.

“There are many difference in the lives of the children I have supported. Educational security is one. The payment of fees, buying of books and uniforms, payments of transportation to schools and giving of feeding fees has help transform the lives of many as compare to those who are not sponsored.

“The children can now speak with confidence as they meet many prominent individuals from different communities who serve as mentors.”

Amadu’s next agenda is to go beyond the communities fund raising activities to raising corporate funds and with the award from MTN’s Heroes of Change, he is now highly confident of support from corporate institutions.

His vision for Achievers is to see the organization become one of the leading professional organizations which specialize in giving quality education to girls in slums.

“Everyone need to follow his or her passion. But remember the best passion you can follow is one that will help change the life of an individual who is in distress. We should all come together to support honorable causes and help build the human resources in the country through the development of slums.”

AMADU MOHAMMED (MIDDLE) AT THE CENTRE