My early encounter with hardship inspired me to give back - Dr. Yakong

Dr. Yakong, before the book launch, already was well-known for the support she had given to the vulnerable natives of that district through her charitable organisation called the Ghana Rural Opportunities for Women (GROW) backed by development partners at her alma mater, the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada.

She had provided bicycles for close to half a million of schoolgirls and farmers, scholarships for hundreds of students, goats and donkey-carts for women and a mechanised borehole and a standby generator for a clinic at Nyobork (a community in the district) among other notable interventions aimed at making the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) a reality in that deprived area.

Every sentence in the newly launched storybooks comes in both English and Nabit (the language spoken in the district). The overall aim of the invention is to use simple storytelling to boost reading and writing in the two languages, to preserve and promote the Nabdam culture among the young generation and to inspire young writers in the area. Another book containing alphabets in Nabit, compiled by Dr. Yakong and some educators in the district, was launched alongside the two storybooks.

Traditional authorities, civil servants, religious leaders, schoolchildren, a delegation from the Ghana Education Service (GES), politicians as well as a team of lecturers and students from the University of British Columbia, led by Professor Susan Crichton and Cindy Bourne, gathered at Kongo, a busy town in the district, not only to unveil the innovation but also to celebrate it.

“Growing up in my early years in the village and in school, I had the opportunity to experience real life challenges- challenges of our mothers trying to raise their families with little resources, those confronting girls’ access to education and what that means for families, communities and national development.

“I decided to turn these challenges into a dream and a vision, aimed at doing something to contribute back to my community that made me who I am today. Some of these contributions may lead to making a difference in the lives of others so that they, too, can lead dignified lives,” Dr. Yakong told an admiring crowd at the event.