A typical day in the life of Edwina Nikoi, a lecturer at the University of Ghana is spent preparing for classes and getting involved in school activities. She is the editorial coordinator for an academic journal on campus so she is usually working on research, articles or preparing for conferences or presentations of her work. Edwina is also very much engaged in church meetings and activities.

Edwina recounts her experience as a mentor in the Ahaspora ‘Changing Mindsets Mentoring Program’ in an interview. She shares her experience as a mentor and encourages others to join the program.

“Growing up, I benefited so much from the mentoring and the guidance that I received from grown ups around me. It is actually what has led me to where I am today and it just seemed so selfish not to pay it forward. I know it sounds like a cliche but that really was what motivated me to mentor. My first volunteering experience in Ghana after returning home from the US was with GILLBT as a “Bible ambassador”. I was informing people about GILLBT’s translation projects, but I still was looking for ways to impact young adults. When I saw the call for mentors for the Yale Young African Scholars Mentoring Programme (YYAS) with Ahaspora, I didn’t think twice about signing up.

I usually participate in the University and work prep workshops, leading sessions on effective reading, writing and communication skills. These have been great and I have enjoyed it. Therefore, having the chance to do what I like doing on a mentoring program sealed the deal.

My greatest moment as an Ahaspora mentor was when I learnt that a participant at a workshop I facilitated on ‘Improving writing’ had won a writing prize at his school after adopting the advice I gave at the workshop, which was, “writing something daily, even for half an hour, is one sure way of improving one’s writing.”

My advice to any aspiring mentor is, “stop thinking about doing it, and just do it! You never know what will come out of your impact on just one person.”

I recommend the Ahaspora ‘Changing Mindsets Mentoring Program’ to any aspiring mentor because it is a fantastic opportunity to pour into young people’s lives to help them navigate this complicated world.”