After six weeks of digital skills training, the final Cohort for the Soronko Rotary Coding for Girls Project came to an end today, 30th April 2021. The project is run through a global grant with Rotary International, Rotary Club of Limbuergerhof/Voderpflaz, and the Host, Rotary Club of Accra Airport. The graduating 4th cohort of the Project had training in digital skills, social media management, and web development using WordPress. As part of the training activities, the beneficiaries also gained soft skills in public speaking, CV writing, and E-Counselling to equip themselves with employability skills and personal development.
Members of the Rotary Club Accra-Airport, the trainees, and the staff of Soronko Academy were present at the graduation ceremony. The ceremony kicked off with an opening prayer by Miss Annette Agyare, the Human Resource Manager of Soronko Academy, followed by a welcome address from Mrs Regina Honu, CEO of Soronko Academy. In her welcome address, Mrs Regina Honu thanked the Rotary Club of Limbuergerhof/Voderpflaz and the Host, Rotary Club of Accra Airport for the great partnership and hard work in making the first year of project implementation success. Mrs Honu in her congratulatory speech encouraged everyone to sign up for the academy’s opportunities platform as Soronko seeks to engage the beneficiaries even beyond the training period. Later a short video of impact stories from the Alumni was shown to the audience. An opportunity was then given to 3 trainees to share their e-counselling experiences and how they have benefited from the sessions with Mrs Rovaughna. It was great to hear the transformational stories shared by the ladies towards achieving their set goals for the training.
Mrs Rovaughna Richardson the E-Counsellor delivered a presentation on e-counselling service and its benefits in improving self-confidence and self-awareness in girls. As part of the six weeks training, the beneficiaries received demand-driven counselling resources to support their emotional and physical wellbeing. Mrs Rovaughna Richardson thanked Rotary Club Accra-Airport and Soronko Academy for the partnership in allowing her to transform the lives of many girls. Students who participated in the E-counselling sessions were all recognized and awarded gifts based on their commitment and dedication to completing their action-goal sheets. The awardees were Justina, Marvelous, Stella, and Haybee.
The ceremony continued with a speech by Rotarian Nat, the past president of Rotary Accra-Airport City who encouraged the girls to embrace Digitization in today’s changing world. According to him, the world has changed so much after Covid and there is no going back. One key lesson we take from this pandemic is that Digitization is the new normal. This is why the Rotary Club invests in sustainable initiatives such as the Rotary Coding for girls Project to allow young people especially girls to impact society through technology. He urged the graduating cohort to take advantage of the lessons and pursue careers in Digital Marketing. He mentioned that instead of posting personal images for likes rather create opportunities for yourself by using your social media platform to advertise or market for existing business at a fee. Rotarian Nat advised the trainees to believe in their dreams and to also build networks for knowledge sharing. As a Rotarian, he charged the ladies to be ready to lead the change they hope to see in their communities. He ended his speech with the quote “Keep aiming for the tops because it’s always crowded at the bottom”.
As part of the ceremony, the students briefly presented their final project work to the panel. The students received good remarks from their guests present at the ceremony. Awards were given to the team with the best business website and most punctual student and the best student in terms of academic excellence. Team Unique College International was adjudged winners of the best project work award. Miss Esther and Gertrude were also awarded as the most punctual and best student respectively.
In closing, certificates of completion were presented to all the graduating Rotary Cohort 4 trainees. Miss Josephine Offei the Career and Development Advisor at Soronko Academy introduced the beneficiaries to the Soronko Alumni Network and encouraged them to register as this opportunity would allow them to stay connected to learn and build their capacity. The ceremony ended with a vote of thanks by Miss Josephine Offei. The participants, together with the staff of Soronko Academy and representatives of Rotary Club Accra-Airport City took a group picture and networked amongst themselves.
