Leadership and Development Studies with Compassion International New Ebu, Ghana
The International Leadership Foundation’s initiative Young Leaders League (Y2L) was invited by the Compassion International Child Development Centre New Ebu in the Abura Asebu Kwamankese District of Ghana (Central Region) to help train students from the 7th-12th March 2022.
Compassion International is a child-advocacy ministry that aims to help to free children in the developing world from various forms of poverty. This child development organization strives to open a privileged child’s eyes to the barriers that prevent less privileged children from escaping the consequences of devastating inequality. They work through the local church to provide child development programs that release children from spiritual, economic, social, and physical poverty, enabling them to become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults.
The week-long program was activity-based and scheduled daily. Twenty-nine students, who had previously completed their Junior High School examinations, will soon report to their respective Senior High Schools on 4 April 2022. The class consisted of seven girls and 22 boys. The ILF team, at times using the students’ indigenous language, took the students through the Leadership and Development Studies (LADS) curriculum, helping them learn how to maximize their time and also achieve better grades on their various campuses.
On Thursday,10th March, the students were given an opportunity to pray to receive Christ after listening to a devotional talk. Twenty-five of these young people gave their lives to Christ. Later, the ILF team taught the topics for the day, which were morality and spirituality. They were engaged in the LADS curriculum through PowerPoint presentations and videos. A movie night on one of the evenings was followed by a spiritual conversation about the movie’s theme.
All of these activities were possible through ILF’s able volunteers who tirelessly taught these students how to be their best for themselves and their community at large. They were exposed to other opportunities in and outside their community. The students came to understand the environment or community in which they find themselves should never be a barrier to their growth and success.
In addition to the LADS program, Y2L/LADS offers a Youth Mentor Training (YMT). This training helps to equip youth advisors, teachers and anyone interested in mentoring young lives with the skills needed to effectively implement and run a leadership and development studies program.