Role Models For Zongo Female Students

Aisha Salifu, Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Zongo Development Fund (ZoDF)

The spectacle of a Zongo lady standing in front of young Zongo female students of the Accra Girls' Senior High School, most of them from Nima, Mamobi and the nearby catchment areas of the school; and encouraging them to see how far she has come through education—is an opportunity deserving of replication across the country.

We wish to congratulate Aisha Salifu, Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Zongo Development Fund (ZoDF) for the wonderful speech she rendered during the sod-cutting ceremony for the commencement of work on the enhanced façade of the school, yesterday.

The project was as important as the speech she delivered to the female students because it stood out as a bulwark against the multiple temptations staring at the vulnerable female students, especially in their areas of residence.

The presentation of role models to female students at that level of education is very important and should in our opinion be included in the programmes of the ZoDF.

It can only be conjectured the impact a role model such as the deputy CEO would make on vulnerable female students living in Nima or Mamobi.

Such girls are targets of irresponsible predating male youth who would use all manner of items from fanciful dresses to mobile phones to lure them into paying lip-service to their education.

Periodic organization of outstanding Zongo ladies who have excelled in all manner of human endeavours from business to academia; and there are many of them in the country today; with a view to showcasing them to female students especially, would go a long way in impacting positively the lives of these girls.

We can also consider doing same for male students who are also vulnerable to the trappings of glitters of life, their dropout rate a source of worry.

We have come a long way with the establishment of a Zongo Ministry and the ZoDF as an implementing agency that we must begin to consider innovations that can change the lives of girls in the downtrodden commodities which the Zongos are.

President Akufo-Addo would have cause to smile when at the end of the day his dream of changing the lot of Zongo residents, the youth therein, especially, comes true.

The implementers of the ZoDF policies, should besides the infrastructural developments planned for these communities which of course are important, think of alternative life-changing interventions such as personal engagements with vulnerable segments of these communities.

The deputy CEO, because of her Zongo background and therefore having in-depth knowledge of these areas, has a lot to offer towards the achievement of the goals of the fund, her gender being a special impetus in that direction.