Ghana

I was born in Accra, Ghana on Jan. 21, 1989. At the age of 13, I had the opportunity to be part of Children and Youth in Broadcasting - Curious Minds, a child rights and youth advocacy organization where the group seeks the welfare of children and youth in the society and uses the media as a tool for advocacy, peer-to-peer education, and community volunteer work. Curious Minds taught me the essence of child and youth participation and the importance of engaging and consulting children in the decision making process in issues affecting them by using the media as an effective advocacy tool. Curious Minds broke the boundary of the notion that “children are to be seen and not heard.” My passion for journalism as a development tool started here. Currently, I am in the Catholic Institute of Business and Technology pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in public administration.

Global Press Institute was an opportunity for me as a woman to report on issues of social change in and around my community without necessarily being a professional journalist. For me, this is empowerment. I have been involved with GPI for almost three years now, and the experience has been tremendous. I believe that what makes me special and interesting is my love for social work. I have affected society in a positive way by being a mouthpiece for the voiceless and other young people who have not had the chance to be empowered to express themselves positively.

As a young person, growing up with so much empowerment has made me overcome certain obstacles. For instance the acceptance of young people having a place in the media by adults and professionals has been a gradual process. The issue of children's rights is also not seen as a “foreign” culture anymore. I think the world would have been a worse place to live in without my existence since in my little way, I have, I am, and I will make a difference everywhere I go.