Author: Lawrencia Awuku

“How could you have predicted that you would be profoundly affected by this pandemic? Remember life journeys birth lessons.”

You may be unaware of some events but they still have great sway over you, transitioning you from one trail to the other. You are differently introduced to every episode, from no to low impacts that just keep you going; those that become part of you, increase your passion, motivation, energy- which makes you feel obstacles no longer matter; to other occurrences that change your direction.

In understanding these episodes, you’ll agree with me that we tend to overlook the ones with no impacts on directions we take and rather focus on others that boost and gear our directions.

Predicting and envisioning events boost our intellectual, emotional and social skills, whereas unpredictable events affect our personal development by placing strenuous pressure on finances and relationship with work colleagues as well as loss of identity and self confidence.

However, sometimes unhappy events such as #Covid19 unveils inner personalities, introduce us to loved ones and propels us to move forward faster and do bolder things.

In juxtaposing both predictable and unpredictable events in my life, permit me to walk you through 7 incredible lessons I have learnt during this pandemic;

1. Now more than ever I love staying at home with my mum and spend more time together.
   I was always moving from volunteering works to school paying little attention to my family. My mum’s ailment during this pandemic, studying from home and schools’ closure influenced me to spend more time with family.
   This decision but to make things more positive has taught me I have to find alternatives to make this a reality.
   
2. Bravery: when life demands more than you are used to or can handle, Persevere!
   If the other part of you feels like giving up, Persevere! And you feel a task is difficult, Persevere!!!
   
3. Online studies took over in Ghana with such a shaky system leaving students on their own fate. From losing a test, catching up on online lectures to writing tests and exams online. Such a crazy moment enhanced my ability to embrace change and to stay updated.
   
4. Blaming the world for this pandemic will not push burdens off my shoulders, it rather disempowers me. I would rather take charge and help make myself and others happy in the best way. This will help overcome setbacks and disappointments. #Happiness is a choice
   
5. As schools are closed and economic activities take a halt from the pandemic causing untold human suffering, I realised how working/volunteering whiles studying from home is challenging. Setting priorities can be difficult during these times when you have family, work, education merged into one.
   
6. I must confess that I didn’t enjoy farming when my once dad took us to his farm, but I have cultivated a habit of practicing Get Global Project Grow a Bean on SDGs #2 which has made me appreciate small things and I’m enjoying farming with my dad now.
   
7. Unlearning lessons that do not serve me can help change my life.

“In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity” ~Albert Einstein

The Challenge is on all of us!!

In a country where tradition, culture and religion has a major influence on almost everything, a new dawn has come where people have to sacrifice all these for a basic need, LIFE!

On 15 March, at 10 pm, President Nana Akufo-Addo banned all public gatherings including conferences, workshops, funerals, festivals, political rallies, church activities and other related events to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Basic schools, senior high schools and universities, both public and private, have also been closed. In addition to these directives, citizens were advised to observe social distancing, avoid hug and handshakes. At this point, people have to weigh their choices. We are stuck between choosing our needs over our wants or vice versa.

Need, a necessity whereas want a desire.
Needs point out something you must have for survival. On the other hand, want is something you wish to have. The necessity which is life and the desire to live a normal life.

Handshakes and hugs have been an integral part of the Ghanaian setting. To show solidarity at funerals, to show appreciation and to say congratulations.
Are we ever going to go back to before?
Will our event centres, church auditoriums among others ever be opened for patrons?
All these and more are things we yearn and desire to go back to. They are best described as our wants.

There is one factor that overrides all of our wants and that is life. The need to stay alive. This need has made everyone to sacrifice an aspect of their life’s for the fight against the pandemic.

Everyone has compromised something, be it education, church, fun, leisure, work, etc
At this point, even if you have your life back, know it is at the expense of someone else.

Choose Wisely! Stay At Home!! Stay Safe!!!

The Get Global Programme Passport is a highly visual-friendly booklet used by facilitators to enhance the understanding of the SDGs as students are taken on a creative educative journey around the globe. It’s a perfect product representing the combined powers of education and entertainment!

With two facilitators(Lead and Support) tasked with the objective of empowering a class full of exuberant youth, you sure must have something up your sleeves to keep the class busy and engaged. That’s where the Passport comes in handy!

Each student is given a passport and throughout the six – goals structured programme, taken within a 7-month period, they will be required to fill, draw, act out and discuss questions and activities captured in the book.

The passport is divided into 6 sections with each part containing questions about a specific SDG. At the end of each section, students get to answer varying questions about the subject matter. All answered sections are given a seal of approval using the customized MTW stamp which most if not all kids always look forward to with such great excitement!

The passport continues to inspire creative open discussions, increases the involvement of all parties, creates a high sense of observation and inclusivity in class. At MTW, we believe introducing more visual friendly resources at homes and schools could be a game-changer in developing the next set of global leaders and citizens!

Prior to the lockdown of the capital due to the invasion of the COVID-19 virus, my life had been programmed to look forward to Friday of every fortnight with excitement and responsibility.

The class 6 pupils of the Lord Krishna Academy has become an integral part of my life, one I could not miss for anything in the world.

Every new session felt like a team meeting with fifteen team members working together to achieve the same goal – leaving no one behind.

To me, the pupils at Lord Krishna’s Academy are like family, whose welfare supersede a facilitator-pupil relationship and feels more like a sibling relationship.

With every weekly extension of the lockdown, I miss them the more and all I can think about is if they are being the change they promised to be in our last session when we worked on achieving Zero Hunger.

I believe this is going to be over soon and we will be together again.

The world is at a standstill and all that echoes in my ears are the words written in the famous diary of Anne Frank- the Jewish teenager who went into hiding during the holocaust. She wrote the quote “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”

The current pandemic which has halted the activities of humans- both economic and social, echoes an important message. The message is that as people, we are often caught up in the rat race of life and tend to forget one of the most important parts of our existence on earth, which is caring for one another and the earth at large.

The pandemic has made us realize that every single one of us, irrespective of our position and our location is needed. All we have in this life is one another and we need to “make the world a better place” as Michael Jackson sang in his song “Heal the world” released in 1991.

When this pandemic is over let’s not hesitate in helping each other in whichever way we can and with whatever resources we can harness. Let us “make it a better place, for you and for me and the entire human race”.

“EDUCATION IS THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON WHICH YOU CAN USE TO CHANGE THE WORLD”

• Nelson Mandela

The ability of a kid to walk right is when he or she is rightly taught how to walk. Your ability to drive well and responsibly, most at times, hinges on the fact that your instructors taught you well. Your ability to solve complex problems could be based on the fact that you were taught how to solve the smaller problems rightly.

This means Educating (rightly) is a key concept that needs to be prioritized highly in our schools, homes and countries. The ability of a nation to groom its younger generation into reliable leaders is mainly based on the content, methods and modes through which the young ones are trained.

And that’s why at Move The World, we don’t just teach but we facilitate. Through effective facilitation skills, most students in Medie are not only getting to understand the first 6 SDGs and their impact on the world but also they are becoming more aware of what it means for each one of them to be a Global Citizen through our flagship initiative, Get Global Programme!

During one of my support facilitation roles on SDG 1 (No Poverty) at United Christian Academy. We provided students with a beading kit (beads, strings, lockets) and asked each kid to get their creative caps on to design a bracelet. These pictures are just a few of the results from our creative geniuses. Now, should you have asked them to do this a week before the session, it would have been close to impossible; though each kid had seeds of creativity embedded in them!