Tarkwa (W/R), February 18, GNA – Ladies in Mining and Allied Professions in Ghana (LiMAP-Gh) in collaboration with the Counseling and Student Support Unit (CSSU) of the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), have inaugurated a Student Mentorship Programme (SMP).
The SMP is on the theme “Start right, and end well”
Launching the year-long programme which is the first of its kind for first year female students, Professor Richard Kwasi Amankwah, Vice Chancellor of UMaT said, “there are several ways in which people grow in life. Some grow by trial and error while others grow by self-talk. If one grows by any of these, you may grow up having so many negative marks in your life”.
According to the Vice Chancellor, “One way that has been tried over the years and found to be workable is to grow through mentorship”.
“l believe this programme will breed new grounds so that you wonderful ladies will settle in perfectly into our system and make use of the maximum resources we have and grow as you continue with your programme,” he said.
Professor Anthony Simons, Pro-Vice Chancellor, UMaT, said mentoring was a relationship for personal development and there should be effective communication during mentorship.
He said through mentorship, the mentee would be molded into a successful person although it came with responsibilities.
“There should be trust, respect, no intimidation and mentors should not be judges, but rather encourage mentees when something goes wrong. You should know why you are in the university and avoid being carried away by relationships. Your main concentration should be on your studies” he added
The President of LiMAP-Gh, Professor Grace Ofori-Sarpong, recounted that five years ago, a group of females with like mindedness came together to form an association known as LiMAP-Gh, with two main objectives.
She said the “first was to equip ourselves as females so that we would make a mark wherever we find ourselves and we would live above the state and the humanity in us so as to shine ahead wherever we find ourselves, while the second was to serve as role models and mentors to the younger females in order to transform the generations after us”.
Prof. Ofori-Sarpong said when the association begun, the focus was mainly on the second cycle institutions until last year when they realised there were issues at the tertiary institutions which required attention, adding that “since about half of our members are from UMAT, we decided to start there”.
She said LiMAP-Gh collaborated with CSSU in UMaT to begin the mentorship programme, and added that, “Last year, before the final years graduated, we organized a programme dubbed, ‘Exit in Readiness’ and this was done to help them transit smoothly into the world of work”.
“This year we want to help the first year students so that they will fit very well into the university space and do what is right” LiMAP-Gh President said.
She expressed appreciation to AngloGold Ashanti Iduaprim Mine, Abosso Goldfields Limited and UMaT for the support.
Mr Samuel Boakye Pobee, Managing Director of Anglogold Ashanti Iduaprim limited, in a speech read on his behalf said the mining industry had become a male dominated area.
He said to demonstrate their commitment to bridge the gap between male and female employees, management this year reserved 50 per cent of their scholarship award to females pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) related programmes at the tertiary level.
He further indicated that “We would collaborate with UMaT through LiMAP-Gh to mentor and groom ladies in the first and second cycle as well as tertiary institutions to prepare them adequately for the job market”
He praised LiMAP-Gh and UMaT for initiating the programme, adding “We are committed to creating an enabling environment for females to thrive in their roles and will continue to work collaboratively and innovatively to realise this objective”.
GNA