Four young ladies from Ghana were on Friday awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals for impacting their communities through various community projects under the Black Girls in Lead (B-GLID) programme.

The medallists, Mumuni Horia, Shaibu Zuhilanatu, Menelva Aba Mensah, and Kendra Cobbin­ah, also received a cash prize of US$500, US$750, and US$1,000 each, as well as a tablet and a laptop.

They won the awards alongside Ms Velma Tseli and Ms Mercy Ekoojo Zekeli from Kenya and Nigeria, respectively, in two age categories.

While Ms Tseli, Ms Zekeli, and Ms.

Cobbinah placed 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the 16-18 years category, Ms Horia, Ms Zuhilanatu, and Ms Mensah placed 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the 12-15 years category.

Special awards were also pre­sented to Ms Victoria Atsiatorme, Ms Florence Mensah, Ms Ethel Mensah, Ms Briana Kambotuu, and Ms Makella Anyanwu.

A total of 33 young girls from Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria partic­ipated in the community project under the B-GLID programme after undergoing training and men­torship programmes organised by Sisters Keepers, a global network of women leaders dedicated to empowering women and girls.

As one of the programmes of Sisters Keepers, the B-GILD programme is a pilot programme that aims at equipping young black girls with the necessary tools and resources to make a significant impact on the world.

Delivering the keynote address at the awards ceremony, the Chief Executive Officer of Strategic Communication (Stratcomm) Africa, Madam Esther Ambah Numaba Cobbah, advised the young ladies not to take the values instilled in them by their parents for granted.

She explained that those values were important in shaping their lives in the future.

Madam Cobbah further urged them to identify and accept the challenges that prevented them from achieving their full potential, and realising their dreams to be able to overcome them.

Also, she encouraged the young ladies to be "daring and bold" enough to exhibit their potential to stand out and make a positive impact in society.

For her part, the leader of Sis­ters Keepers, Mrs Violet Pearson, stressed the need for communities to invest in young girls to enable them to achieve their full potential. "This programme, for instance, was difficult because the girls had no access to the Internet, comput­ers or telephones, and so we had to pick them up from different communities to a central location.

But they needed to learn how to use technology, and that was a challenge.

As a community, we have to find ways to provide basic tools for young girls, even before we start asking them to show up," she emphasised.

The event was attended by personalities such as the Executive Director of the Springboard Road­show Foundation, Mrs Comfort Ocran, the chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Ms Kath­leen Addy, and Mrs Joana Opare, a member of the National Peace Council.

It was organised in partnership with the Integrated Action of De­velopment Initiatives (IADI) and Porducare Touchlife Project.  BY BENJAMIN ARC­TON-TETTEY