PROJECT INSPIRE AFRICA SPEAKS WITH UBALDA MENSAH

From empowering young girls with vocational skills to improving the standard of schools in ghana, Ubalda Mensah is on a mission to empower the next generation of girls to take responsibility for their lives and contribute to nation building. In this interview with project Inspire Africa,Ubalda shares her story.

Can we meet you?

My name is Ubalda Mensah, 22-years-old citizen of Ghana and I love to travel

 

Tell us briefly your childhood experience.

Growing up, I did not have the opportunity to get things on a silver platter. This in a way put some form of pressure on me to strive to be excellent in all I do. There was no room to fool around although I had the freedom to. My parents prioritized education and did their best to give me a solid foundation academically.

 

What’s your educational background?

I began my academic journey at H&E Educational Centre before moving on to Aggrey Memorial A.M.E Zion Senior High School. I am currently an undergraduate at the University of Ghana pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Family and Consumer Sciences.

 

What are your contributions towards making your country a better place?

Through my Foundation, Upward Motion foundation, we are empowering young girls with adequate soft and vocational skills as a way of promoting gender equality in the country. These skills are intended to help them become financially independent. We also work to improve the standard of education in the communities we work in.

What steps did you take to bring your vision to fruition?

Before starting, I sat down and develop a plan in writing. When the vision was clear, I began to look for people who may be interested in the vision and get them to volunteer. I also registered the organization with the government.

 

What have been your achievements?

Through the Foundations’ Girls’ club activities, we have been able to mentor over 100 young girls and empowered them through delivering modules on career, leadership, financial education as well as our vocational skills training.

The Foundation has also been able to cement the two classrooms of the Gomoa Obuasi Primary School and provided some furniture for the children in order to make learning easier.

In 2021, the Foundation got nominations as NGO of the year and won an award from one of the nominations. In order to understand teenager pregnancy in Ghana, we decided to set up a teenage mother club where we get to hear firsthand the experiences of teenage mothers and understand how best to help them.

What motivated you to do what you are doing?

I simply want to see young girls be and do more with their lives.  This is why I endeavor to create opportunities for them to learn, innovate and express their abilities. I also believe that the classroom influences education and the approach of students towards it. How great and conducive a classroom can make learning more participatory, enjoyable and innovative for school children.

 

What has been your major challenge since you began your nonprofit?

We are immune against lack of funding but we are making progress gradually and hope to do more.  Finding the right people to join us on this journey hasn’t been easy.

 

How have you been able to raise money to implement your ideas?

I support the organization’s activities from my entrepreneurial endeavors. I sell liquid soap, bottles, and ladies underwear. I as fundraise on social media.

Could you share with us one or two experience(s) you have had in the course of your campaign that has impacted on you?

One experience I have had was during a visit to an orphanage. We had to raise some amount of money to buy certain items for the orphanage. I gave members of our team the opportunity to help raise funds. One week into the program, the feedback was very poor. I had to do the majority of the fundraising myself and it drained me both physically and financially.

This experience taught me that no one understands the vision as much as I do and so though, I have a team, I need to work more than anyone else and as its pioneer I cannot afford to give up even when everyone else does.

Ø  My experience as a young nonprofit leader has taught me that as a startup leader, you must be prepared and able to multitask. Sometimes within my organization, I have to work the operations head, girls’ club coordinator, financial secretary, social media manager and the one who trains facilitators, leading the team as an executive director. You need to be willing to work to make things work.

 

 What are your prospects in the next 5 or 10 years?

We look forward to owning a training institute that will provide free training for young girls, teenage mothers, and orphans. We also look to renovating and fully equipping at least five classrooms in the next 5 years.

 

What do you think is the major cause of unemployment in Africa, and how can we get over this?

I think the major cause of unemployment in Africa is how theoretical our education system is. Students graduate from school and yet are poorly equipped with the practical skills needed to succeed in their field of study. This explains why in Ghana; foreign engineers handle road constructions even though our universities churn out hundreds of engineers yearly. This can change if the focus of education is turned to learning and practice. The second contributory factor to unemployment is the fear of young people when it comes to venturing into entrepreneurship due to lack of funds and the difficulties of doing business in Africa. Nations grow through small and medium enterprises and governments in Africa must begin to make them a priority.

If you had an opportunity to speak to presidents in Africa, what would be your message.

Reduce bureaucracy and create an environment for civil society to thrive. There are partners in development and democracy; and not political enemies.

Thank Ubalda for sharing your story with us

It’s my pleasure!