Anything you see me do is aimed at empowering the less privileged to access opportunities
Can you tell about yourself? I am from Ghana in West Africa. I have been volunteering all my life, delivering educational interventions in rural communities. I think this is what really motivated me to do my bachelor’s degree in English, as I had experienced first-hand the literacy gap among young learners. Upon completion of my first degree, I moved to work with the British Council as a language assessment consultant for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). I also worked with other organisations looking into how to develop new technologies which could help young people master English language speaking, writing, and reading. After this, I wanted to enter the Chinese English language market but unfortunately there were many visa restrictions. I moved from the education industry and focused on corporate social responsibility (CSR). In 2021, I gained my master’s degree in governance from the University of Lincoln, where my research focused on CSR and sustainability reporting, particularly in the UK airline industries. I have been helping organisations to develop their CSR initiatives – especially with small and medium enterprises. I am also Co-founder of a non-profit organisation – GISH Foundation – which was established in 2016. Could you tell me more about GISH Foundation? I was volunteering for an NGO that was committed to advocacy, and we would talk to beneficiaries about why they needed to be educated, and what
on society. I was selected out of a pool of more than 3,500 applications and nominations from 194 countries worldwide. The award looks at students who are not just engaged in different academic work but who are able to relate what is happening in the classroom to society. If you ask me my motto for my social work, I always tell people that anything you see me do is aimed at empowering the less privileged to access opportunities. The award is just not about how well you do in class but the impact you are making on society. I received a nomination and went through interviews. The amazing thing is that I was one of only two candidates in the UK who were shortlisted for this award. After receiving it, I also caught the attention of the UK Government and 10 Downing Street, and I was the awarded the Prime Minister’s Point of Light award, making me the 1,794th person to be win this award. I think the selling point which really got me onto this shortlist, was my award-winning project, which is called Ubuntu. What Ubuntu was doing was connecting classrooms beyond borders. Imagine leveraging the power of technology to enable a school in a rural area of Ghana to build a relationship with one in the UK.
they had to do to be educated best. I found a gap: I did not think it was enough to advocate for education only. There needed to be access to training; an opportunity to access resources for personal development. I moved from this organisation to another where they gave young people the opportunity to complete their high- school education. I realised that some of these beneficiaries were coming out with very good grades and there was nobody to sponsor them to pursue good programmes at university. Again, I approached management and they said this was how far our mandate would allow us to go. I think I got tired with these responses, so, in 2016, I decided to start GISH Foundation, which was interested in the holistic development of the beneficiaries; the holistic development of the people we are serving. It is not about helping them to a certain level where they then get stuck. We aim to create a levelling environment to make sure that they fully realise their potential, from delivery of education interventions to social interventions, to providing support for special needs. Any intervention that creates that enabling environment for people to thrive. You were recently included in the top 50 shortlist for the Chegg.org Global Student Prize 2021. Could you tell me more about the award? The global Chegg.org award recognises students who are both academically brilliant and making an impact
I was able to connect these two regions and have them share their culture and knowledge.
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Ambition | BE IN BRILLIANT COMPANY
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