Ms. Baddoo (7th Left) with some of the students after the event
Over 200 Senior High School (SHS) girls packed the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority’s (GCAA) new auditorium to celebrate Girls in Aviation Day this year.
The girls listened with rapt attention as the carefully picked speakers from Women In Aviation took turns inspiring them.
Eloina Baddoo, Delta Air Lines Marketing and Sales Manager for Ghana, Liberia, and Cote d’Ivoire, shared her journey into the aviation industry in 2017.
She stated that she started as an intern working with the General Manager at the time and worked her way up to her current job at Delta.
She was nominated to her current position after working hard for almost two years and supervising operations in three countries.
According to Ms. Baddoo, the aviation sector provides limitless opportunities for young women who want to break boundaries and excel, and Delta is a proud sponsor of such young creative brains like her.
“I am proud to say Delta Air Lines teams in all the five destinations in Africa, including Accra, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Lagos and Senegal are led by women,” she said.
She argued that this shows Delta’s strong commitment to assisting women and girls in the aviation sector, and it is the reason Delta is so excited to be a part of this excellent project that inspires young girls to dream big.
Eloina stated that in March 2023, as part of celebrations commemorating International Women’s Day, Delta hosted a high-tea event for women leaders in the aviation and business industries to network and encourage one another.
For over 3 years, Delta has supported Girls in Aviation Day celebration in Ghana by introducing girls to the airline business and exciting career prospects available to them either as pilots, engineers, marketers, customer service representatives, or in various other roles across the sector. The program was organized by the Ghana Chapter of the Women in Aviation International (WAI).
It was the first time meeting after a hiatus in 2019 due to the coronavirus pandemic and selected students from Accra Girls High School, Tema Senior High School, Ola Girls Senior High School, Lashibi Senior High School and a representative of Afia Kobi Senior High School in Kumasi were eager to soak in all sessions led by professionals in aviation, mainly women.
Other speakers admonished the girls to stay focused, be disciplined, take advantage of all available opportunities and work diligently towards their career goals.
They encouraged them to appreciate their unique backgrounds as this can greatly fuel their work attitudes and influence the outcome. In attendance were the Deputy Minister for Transport, Alhassan S. Tampuli; President of Women in Aviation, Ghana Chapter, Madam Juliet Okae; Board Member for GCAA, Madam Joyce Opoku-Boateng; and Managing Director, Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL), Mrs. Pamela Djamson-Tettey.
The girls enjoyed an exhibition of miniature aircrafts at the event grounds and a tour of the Air Traffic Control (ATC), Simulation Centre and Terminal 3 at the Kotoka International Airport.