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The Israeli Ambassador to Ghana, Roey Gilad, has urged African Women and Ghanaian women in particular to believe in themselves to make it big in life.
“I am a great believer in the ability of people in general and women in particular, and I know that every woman can make it in life, more especially the African woman and particularly the Ghanaian woman, despite any challenge facing her”, Mr Gilad stressed.
The Israeli Ambassador made the remarks as a guest speaker at the Alumni Homecoming Event and 2024 graduation ceremony of the Henry Djaba Memorial Centre for Ideas and Knowledge, otherwise known as Henry Djaba Foundation, Somanya in the Yilo Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region last Saturday.
Henry Djaba Foundation, with the motto: “Working together to transform lives”, was established in 2020 by Otiko Afisa Djaba in memory of her late father, Henry Djaba, with the first graduates in 2021 offering three courses, including Fashion Design, Cosmetology and Bead Jewellery for one year.
The Israeli Ambassador said it was not easy to be a woman in the world and Africa in particular, but those who persevered and made it in life should continue to be shining examples for all African women.
“If there should be any significant change in Africa, it is going to be led by women. I said women because they are facing more challenges, but that does not discourage them. It is not easy for men in Africa, but it is more difficult for women”, Mr Gilad said.
He was particularly happy to see physically challenged women in wheelchairs among the graduates and added that such a situation called for believing in oneself, commitment and dedication in all spheres of life.
The Executive Director of the Foundation, Ms Djaba, said the exposure at the Henry Djaba Foundation was only the beginning and young people, women and persons with a disability must use the knowledge acquired at the centre to determine their destiny, saying, “be bold, disciplined, respectful, filled with integrity and passion to make life count and above all, you must work hard to take yourselves out of poverty’’.
The Member of Parliament for Yilo Krobo, Albert Tetteh Nyarkotey, who was represented by Desmond Djabadey, lauded the Founders of the Henry Djaba Foundation for empowering young girls and women in his constituency.
He urged all who passed through the foundation’s training to continue to make maximum use of what they had learnt to better their lives as he was committed to assisting the Foundation to train more trainees.
The Deputy National Project Coordinator of the Ghana Enterprise Agency (GEA), Abdul Ibn Latif,said GEA, in partnership with the World Bank, Mastercard Foundation, GIZ and JICA, offered support to business enterprises ranging from entrepreneurship training, business management training and other technical pieces of training and urged the graduates of the Henry Djaba Foundation to be committed to whatever they chose to do to get support from them to grow their businesses.
The Chairman for the programme, Dr Osei Agyemang Bonsu of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the main sponsor of the Foundation since its establishment urged the graduates not to go home and rest but they try and build on what they had learnt, adding “your present condition should not determine your future’’.
