Stephanie S. Sullivan (middle) with officials of the US Embassy and 2019 Ghana Mandela Washington Fellowship
The United States (US) Embassy in Ghana has reiterated its commitment to empowering the youth by unveiling the 2019 Ghana Mandela Washington Fellows.
This year’s group of 32 fellows, who represent the best and brightest of Ghana’s young professionals, would be linked to other young African leaders for an intensive six-week academic and leadership training programme in the US to further develop the leadership skills to become effective leaders in organizations and communities.
Speaking at a reception held for the fellows at her residence in Accra, U.S. Ambassador to Ghana, Stephanie S. Sullivan, said empowering the youth is at the heart of the U.S-Africa partnership.
“I cannot emphasize this enough how critical youth engagement is in our pursuit of those goals. And this is why programmes like the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) exist,” she added.
Ms Sullivan said that the Mandela Washington Fellowship, a flagship programme of YALI complements others to form a large and dynamic network of young African leaders, who are improving transparency and accountability of government, growing businesses, innovating and ultimately serving their communities.
“Of the 700 fellows from across Africa, who participated in the 2018 Fellowship, there was only one veterinarian, Ghana’s very own Dr. Joannishka! Since the Fellowship, Joannishka has been busy running her NGO, Dom Mira Ghana, an animal rescue programme.
“She also produces a live TV show, ‘Today’s Vet’ which airs every Saturday afternoon on Joy Prime…U.S. Embassies around the world are very proud of their alumni family.”
“We believe in you and your capacity to transform Ghana’s future. We look forward to seeing you when you return and we stand ready to work with you as partners in forging Ghana’s future,” Ambassador Sullivan added.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri