From: 11th Annual Lady Chief Justice's Mentoring Programme
Attendance Date: 06/22/2018
On Friday, June 22nd, I had the pleasure of attending the 11th Annual Lady Chief Justice's Mentoring Programme at the Judicial Service of Ghana in the Supreme Court Building. Hosted by the Chief Justice herself, Sophia Akuffo, along with Danida - an international development agency - and UNFPA Ghana, the program invited 10 contingencies to bring young people to the Supreme Court to learn about law, interact with justices of the Supreme Court, and inspire them to pursue high academic and professional achievement despite barriers that they may face. Two of the schools in attendance were the specialty schools for the blind and deaf, while another contingency featured a group of female head porters, or Kayayei. These are young women, typically from the rural, northern parts of the country, who have come to the city for better opportunity and seek financial stability by through selling items that they physically carry on their heads.
The theme of this year's program was "I Pledge My Service to Ghana", and each speaker, especially the chief justice herself, incorporated this theme into their speeches, encouraging students to focus their talents and and ambitions towards Ghana instead of internationally, particularly in an effort to improve the state of the country. After these speeches were given and a lengthy Q&A session ensued, I was given the honor of meeting and speaking to the Chief Justice herself as an intern of the UNFPA. A very personable woman, she expressed her thoughts on the importance of education in Ghana and
Later, I joined the large group of students as they were touring the grounds, and had the opportunity to interview three groups, including one student from O'Reilly Senior High School, nine from Tema Secondary School, and two groups of Kayayie women. From this experience, I was able to get perspectives from students in government schools for the first time, explore male perceptions of education and its impact on their female classmates, and speak to community members whose school experiences are vastly different from those of any of the other students I'd spoken to til that point. Additionally, being outside of a typical school setting allowed my interviews to be a bit more casual in nature, creating a rapoor with the students and Kayayei that made them comfortable with sharing.
Overall, my day at the Supreme Court was one of the most transformational of the entire trip! Stay tuned for individual blogs that will document my interviews with each group.
On Friday, June 22nd, I had the pleasure of attending the 11th Annual Lady Chief Justice's Mentoring Programme at the Judicial Service of Ghana in the Supreme Court Building. Hosted by the Chief Justice herself, Sophia Akuffo, along with Danida - an international development agency - and UNFPA Ghana, the program invited 10 contingencies to bring young people to the Supreme Court to learn about law, interact with justices of the Supreme Court, and inspire them to pursue high academic and professional achievement despite barriers that they may face. Two of the schools in attendance were the specialty schools for the blind and deaf, while another contingency featured a group of female head porters, or Kayayei. These are young women, typically from the rural, northern parts of the country, who have come to the city for better opportunity and seek financial stability by through selling items that they physically carry on their heads.
The theme of this year's program was "I Pledge My Service to Ghana", and each speaker, especially the chief justice herself, incorporated this theme into their speeches, encouraging students to focus their talents and and ambitions towards Ghana instead of internationally, particularly in an effort to improve the state of the country. After these speeches were given and a lengthy Q&A session ensued, I was given the honor of meeting and speaking to the Chief Justice herself as an intern of the UNFPA. A very personable woman, she expressed her thoughts on the importance of education in Ghana and
Later, I joined the large group of students as they were touring the grounds, and had the opportunity to interview three groups, including one student from O'Reilly Senior High School, nine from Tema Secondary School, and two groups of Kayayie women. From this experience, I was able to get perspectives from students in government schools for the first time, explore male perceptions of education and its impact on their female classmates, and speak to community members whose school experiences are vastly different from those of any of the other students I'd spoken to til that point. Additionally, being outside of a typical school setting allowed my interviews to be a bit more casual in nature, creating a rapoor with the students and Kayayei that made them comfortable with sharing.
Overall, my day at the Supreme Court was one of the most transformational of the entire trip! Stay tuned for individual blogs that will document my interviews with each group.
'Til Next Time,
Sydney
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