Priscilla Adu joined the Ubuntu.Lab Transformative Leadership Programme with the desire to learn more and improve herself — but she left with so much more. Being part of the Programme helped her break out of her shell. “It help[ed] me to build myself in a way…knowing how to be around people whom I’ve not met before and feeling the sense of belonging.”
The programme fueled her confidence, “I feel more confident, I feel happy — like I truly belong. I feel supported, cherished, and loved by a whole community.” She recalls, “One of the most powerful moments for me was our very first one-on-one meeting in my hub in Ghana.” It was then she felt seen, like this journey was becoming real.
Her prototype, Young Girls Empowerment through Skills Training (YGEST), was born out of that growth and reflecting on the situations many young girls in her community were facing. “I saw the lives of these girls and how disturbing it was,” she says. “I wanted to use this opportunity to make a change, in the young girls lives and the community at large.”
So far, she’s started the process of listening — speaking to girls one-on-one to understand their hopes, their fears, and what they would do with support. She explains that she has been able “to get to know what they want their lives to be like.” Next, she plans “to organize them so I can take the next step when it’s all said and done.”
Her vision is clear: “I want others to know that every girl deserves the opportunity to better their lives and you and i can make that happen. Let’s bring the young girls closer and speak to them. Let them know their worth, and what their lives can actually be if they better it and not ruin it.”