Brighten Your Corner

Sustainable Development Project For Community Improvement

TheBrightenYourCornerprojectwasini5atedin2014byJCIAccraRoyaletoalignthecommunityprojectsundertakenwiththeul5matevisionofmakingLacommunityalovelyplacetolivein.Ajourneyofthousandmilesbeginswithasinglestep.Thus,togetclosertotherealisa5onofitsvision,JCIAccraRoyaledecidedtoconductaneedanalysisinNovember2013inordertoaddressthepressingissuesthatthelocalchaptercouldtacklewiththemeansandresourcesavailableatthat5me.

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JCI Accra Royale News The Number One JCI Local Organisation

in Ghana

SATURDAY, 05 DECEMBER 2015

General Assembly Gathering of members to discuss growth and development

JCI Africa and Middle East Leadership Academy

Regional

Integration Initiative Forming bridges across Africa

BYC Building a sustainable

future through community

development

1PREZ MESSAGE JCI gave me the

opportunity to unleash my leadership skills and

make impact.

2NOTHING BUT NETS

Campaign against the fight of malaria. Saving

mother and child.

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Accra Royale President Speaks 2015 Chapter President, Allan Akakpo throws more light on been a JCI member and his leadership.

Before being a JCI member, I am a ci2zen coming from a con2nent which lags behind in terms of development: Africa. I believe we are s2ll lagging behind because we suffer from a serious lack of leadership.

In Junior Chamber Interna2onal, we get the opportunity to develop and unleash the needed leadership to create a posi2ve impact in our communi2es, our regions, na2ons, con2nents and the world.

This year, I have had the great honour to lead JCI Accra Royale. It has helped me refine and clearly iden2fy my leadership style. As JCI empowers its members to create impact aFer their years of dedica2on to the cause of the organisa2on, I am confident that this is only the beginning the journey of an African who will con2nue to pursue the objec2ve of making the African con2nent a beHer place.

The theme for this year has been ‘’Living the f u t u r e ’ ’ b e c a u s e m e m b e rs o f t h e

organisa2on have collec2vely decided on what the future of the local organisa2on will look like.

This year, we have impacted six hundred and fiFy (650) pupils through our BYC project and thousand (1000) people through our Nothing But Nets projects. We have also taken various ini2a2ves to raise awareness about the challenges of regional integra2on in the West Africa sub region by taking several road trips and conduc2ng trainings or par2cipated to capacity building events related to the subject. We have also strengthened the rela2onships between members and laid the founda2ons on which the organisa2on will forge ahead.

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03 DECEMBER 2015

BYC Theanalysisrevealedthataschoollibraryprojectwasthefirstchallengethatcouldbetackled

bytheleadershipofthelocalchapter.Furtheranalysisandconsulta5onswithstakeholderslater

onhelped indetermining the following steps thatwouldbe taken. TheBrightenYourCorner

projectwasborn!

TheLaSouthPrimarySchool’slibraryhadbeeninadeplorablestateforthepasttenyearsand

atthe5meoftheanalysis,thestructurewhichoriginallyservedasalibraryhadcrackedwalls,

rippedoffroofs,shaReredwindows,andbrokenfurniture.Amajorityofthelibrarybooks,asa

result of the state of the structure had also been exposed to harsh weather

condi5onsandthefacilityhadbeenrenderedunusable. JCI London Supports in raising 700

Brighten Your Corner History

In2014,JCIAccraRoyale,undertheleadershipof its

Local President Selorm Amesimeku renovated the

exis5ngbuildingi.e.cleanedupandrepairedcracked

walls,brokenwindows, ruinedflooringand furniture

andpaintedthelibrary.Thisexercisewassuccessfully

rolled out and by the end of 2014, through the

benevolence and hard work of members and

partners, the LA South Primary School library was

fully refurbished with the roof rebuilt, windows

changed and furniture provided. The facility, which

waspaintedbyJCIAccraRoyalemembersthemselves,

is now in use and has been of immense value to

students, providing them a convenient space for

personalandgroupstudies

Despite the different challenges like the infla5on in

thecountryandthedifficulty inraisingfundsforthe

project, the 2014 Board of Accra Royale and the

projectcommiReewereabletorefurbishthe library.

The execu5on of this phase of the project

necessitated the ac5ve involvement of JCI Accra

Royalemembersaswellasthemobilisa5onofSeven

ThousandFourHundredGhanaCedis(GHC7,400).

2015BYCObjec.ve

Inlinewiththe2014-2018strategicplan,the

principal focus of BYC will be to stock the

librarywith thenecessarybooks taking into

considera5on the educa5onal level and

requirements of the students. Essen5ally,

theobjec5vesforthisyearweretostockthe

refurbished library with reading materials

and computers. Thosebooks shouldbenefit

650pupilsintheLaSouthPrimaryschool.

BYCFeasibilityStudyandSurvey

A feasibility study and survey in the school

wasdone in the schoolon the27/01/2015.

The Head master, teachers expressed the

need for dic5onaries,encyclopaedias,fairy

tales books, story books by Ghanaian

Writers, foreign supplementary books,

Science books- Integrated Science, English

language – Grammar/ comprehension /

literacy Books, Mathema5cs Books –

numeracy, soc i a l S tud ies books –

geography / History / economics, books on

sanita5on and Hygiene, environmental

Studies books, books on Crea5ve Arts, ICT

booksforbeginners/Guidebooks,Ghanaian

language books (Ga), literature Books.

Another survey revealed the preference of

booksbythepupils.

Normally each day should begin with a literacy period

lasting the first thirty minutes in the day. However

due to the absence of books/library, this is not possible

and this is having a negative effect on the pupils in

their ability to express themselves fluently and write

well in English, the Library will therefore go a long

way to address this pitfall.Head master of La South

Primary School January 2015

TheImpact

Through diverse ini5a5ves and dona5ons,

wemobilised resources to stock the library

withmorethan700booksand09computers

asatNovember2015.Thebooksareusedby

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thepupilsintheschool.Thekidsandschool

authori5es as well as the assemblyman of

the community have expressed on several

occasionstheirgra5tudetoJCIAccraRoyale.

Morebooksaretobedonatedtotheschool

bytheendoftheyear.

We also signed a Memorandum of

Understandingwiththeschoolauthori5esto

ensure the proper management of the

library. Going forward, we will put the BYC

booksandcomputerstoamoreeffec5veuse

andconductciviceduca5onexercises inthe

LaSouthPrimaryschool.

When the Brighten Your Corner project started, we

had our fears, our collective doubts and a series of

unanswered questions. Answers, resources, funds?

We had none! But what we had was the WILL to

ACT, the COURAGE to DARE and the PASSION to

create CHANGE. Today, from a dilapidated,

abandoned 'library', the LA South Primary School is

in the process of becoming a modern resource center

for students! This is what JCI is about!! Positive

change! I thank the 2015 Project Director, Mr

Emmanuel Dowuona for his commitment and for the

outstanding job done this year.

AccraRoyaleNothingButNet

Campaign

The Nothing but Nets is a

flagship project of JCI Accra

Royale, held annually in the

spiritofimprovingoutcomes

ofMDG6(CombatHIV/AIDS,

Malaria and Other Diseases).

Over the years, about 1600 mosquito nets were

distributedby JCIAccraRoyaleandthe impactwas

made in various communi5es in Ghana such as

Afiadenyigba (district of the Volta Region), Tanoso

(Kumasi in the Ashan5 region) and Alogboshie

(GreaterAccraRegion).

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Malaria day with passionate local organisation members.

Celebra.ngMalariaDay

Thisyear,JCIAccraRoyalehasrekindleditsexis5ng

rela5onship with the Na5onal Malaria Control

ProgramtocommemoratetheInterna5onalMalaria

day (25th April) and launch the na5on-wide nets

distribu5on campaign in the Western region of

Ghana(Takoradi).

The event took place as scheduled in Takoradi

where strategies put in place to control malaria

were clearly communicated to par5cipants.

AccordingtotheNa5onalMalariaControlProgram,

the country has recorded a drop in malaria cases

from11.4millionto8.4millionin2014.Eventhough

thissuccessisencouraging,thereisalotmoretobe

done to achieve the country’s goal, spanning 2014

to 2020 which is to reduce by 75% disease and

death due to malaria. JCI Accra Royale was

represented by its President Alan Akakpo, the EVP

SylviaSenu,TheIPPSelormAmesimeku,theproject

Director Yaw Affiamoah, The GS Emmanuel Kofi

Danso and a past execu5ve Wahjib Mohammed.

Ac5vi5es conducted include: a float through the

principal streets of Takoradi by some school

children, students from theNursing andMidwifery

School , Staff from the RHD/DHD, Ghana

HairdressersAssocia5on,SecurityService,Zoomlion,

screeningaswellasdemonstra5onofhowtohang

thenets at the event ground, the commemora5on

indoors,performanceofaskitbystudentsfromthe

Midwifery School. Some personali5es invited:

Minister of Health / The Deputy, President of WR

regionalhouseofchief,etc.

FeasibilityStudies

In Juneand July,2different feasibilitystudieswere

c o n d u c t e d i n L a b a d i c ommun i t y ane r

recommenda5on of the assembly man. Those

studies in La Dade Kotopon municipal assembly

revealed that the inhabitants of the community

never benefited from a single net distribu5on

campaign.Ourassessmentoftheirneedsbroughtto

lighttheirveryneedofthemosquitonetsthatmost

householdscannotafford.

Impact

The community was educated about malaria. The

beneficiary, especially women, showed a real

interest in learning facts about malaria. Their

curiositywas arousedby thepresenta5ons in local

Ghanaian language and their ques5ons were

answered by JCI Accra Royale members and

Na5onal Malaria Control Program representa5ve.

The Na5onal Organiza5on, JCI Ghana also took an

ac5vepart in theeventandwellaRendedbymost

Na5onal execu5ves: Na5onal President Mr Albert

Ankrah, the General Secretary,Mrs. EvelynNikabs,

theNa5onalVicePresidentsMrsPriscillaAniwaare

& Lord Tawiah, and the Na5onal Projects Director,

MohammedYakubu.

Outofthe500mosquitonetsacquiredbyJCIAccra

Royale, 350 were distributed to the ‘’fisheries

community’’inLabadiandtheremainingnetsareto

be distributed in a second beneficiary community

whichwas visited by JCI Accra Royale in Labadi as

well. That community needs some mosquito nets

butalsosomefumiga5onmaterialstofightmalaria.

Plansareunderwaytoaddressthosechallenges.At

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thisstage,theexecu5onoftheprojectnecessitated

aboutGHC6800.

Regional

Integra.on

This year, JCI Accra

Royale took up various

a c 5 v i 5 e s w h i c h

involveditstwinchapters

in other countries in the sub-region. In addi5on to

JCI Cotonou Saphir in Benin (2014 twin), JCI Accra

Royale signed a partnership agreement with JCI

LomeCoco5ersandJCILagosCityattheAfricaand

MiddleEastconferenceinAccra,May2015.

InMarch,membersofAccraRoyaletookpartinthe

Rat race project ini5ated by JCI Cotonou Saphir

projectinBenin.Theprojectwasveryinnova5vein

itsimplementa5onandmemberscouldlearnagreat

deal in terms of project implementa5on. JCI Accra

Royalewasaccompaniedbyarepresenta5veaOne

BillionAfrica.

In August,members of JCI Accra Royale embarked

on a trip to Lagos to promote regional integra5on

with some YALI fellows. The objec5vewas to raise

awareness about challenges peculiar to the free

movement of good and people in the sub region.

ContactsweremadewithYALIandJCILagosfellows

and innova5ve ideas were discussed as to

community projects that could be carried out to

ease the movement of goods and people in West

Africa.

In September, members of JCI Accra Royale

conveyed to Lomé to par5cipate in the local

conven5onofLomeCoco5ers.Discussionwithother

JCIlocalorganisa5onscenteredonjobcrea5onand

business development for JCI members. They also

revolved around ini5a5ves to rebrand JCI and

collaboratewithmorelocalorganisa5onstoachieve

more together. The idea of ‘’an integra5on”

conference was suggested. The conference was

scheduledforAugust2016.

It would basically be about hos5ng a regional

conference inoneof theWestAfricancountries to

promote common cultural values, provide a

traveling opportunity to members who cannot

afford area conferences and permit networking

opportuni5esformembers.

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Social Events

andExcursion

10 social events

were organised.

Differentthemes

were used to

p r o m o t e

f r i e n d s h i p

amongmembers

and d iffe rent

p a r t n e r s . A n

excursion was

also organised to Kakum to pursue the same

objec5ve.

PersonalDevelopment

A capacity building workshop (JCI Admin, new

members’ orienta5on) was organised to get the

team ready for a year of impact. Training about

parliamentary procedure and regional integra5on

were also organised. JCI Accra Royale was also

invited its members to take part in JCI trainings

organised by JCI Accra Elite and JCIDansoman (JCI

Presenter, JCI Achieve). Members also had the

opportunity to take part in various trainings (JCI

impact,effec5vemee5ngs,effec5veleadership,the

skills of nego5a5on, etc.) at the Africa andMiddle

Eastconferenceforwhichinteres5ngpackageswere

offered to JCI members of Ghana to facilitate

par5cipa5on.

Membersof JCIAccraRoyalewerealsoofferedthe

opportunity to par5cipate in events, trainings and

conference hosted by its partners. As such, some

memberscould takepart in theYoungProfessional

dialogues and discourses: bridging the income

inequalitygap inAfrica (4hours), the leadership for

the Africa we want (3 hours) and economic ideas

fes5val(3daysevent).

SustainablePlanningTowardsSuccessive

Leadership.2014-2018StrategicPlanofAc6on.

This strategic plan has been developed by the

2014-2015 Board of Directors, Past Presidents and

HonourableMembersofJCIAccraRoyaleinorderto

provideadisciplinedapproach to themanagement

ofJCIAccraRoyaleovertheperiodof2014to2018

asrecommendedbytheinterna5onalorganisa5on.

Ourcommunityprojectswouldbeproperlyaligned

to the Ac5ve Ci5zens Framework thereby focusing

on Educa5on and Economic Empowerment in

accordancetoMDG1and3,HealthandWellnessin

accordance to MDG 6 and Sustainability Issues

pertaining to environmental sustainability and

sanita5on issues. All projects would be done aner

consul5ng community and conduc5ng the needs

analysiswithstrategicpartnershipfromcommunity

members, theyouth, localbusinessesandallother

relevant stakeholders. Results should bemeasured

evaluatedandreported.

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EVALUATION

Throughout the implementa5on of the strategic

planwemustmonitorourresultstodetermineifwe

are on track to achieving our goals and intended

impact.

Compare data collected during the needs analysis

phasetodatacollectedduringandanertheproject

tomeasurehowmuchposi5vechangewascreated.

Aner comple5on, take the 5me to reflect on the

ac5ontakenandevaluateperformanceincrea5nga

long-las5ng impact. The results of projects will

prove JCI’s value to partners and help us earn

recogni5on as the organisa5on that unites all

sectors of society to create sustainable impact. To

becometheleadingglobalnetworkofyoungac5ve

ci5zens, JCI Accra Royale must lead in thought,

words,ac5onsandresults.

We look forward to you readingournext ar5cle in

the coming year.We can impactmore and spread

ourworkifyoujoinusandsupportourgreateffort.

Please do not hesitate to contact us below to

discusswaysofcrea5ngposi5veimpact.

JCIAccraRoyalePar.cipatesinJCIAc.veCi.zenshipAcademy.

TheAc5veci5zenshipacademyisaunique

JCI platorm where selected JCI leaders aregiven the opportunity to deepen theirunderstanding of the JCI vision and areempoweredbyexcep5onal JCIexecu5vestobecomechangemakersandambassadorsoftheinterna5onalorganisa5on.

This year, JCI Accra Royalewas representedby Alan Akakpo, Sylvia Senu and SelormAmesimeku.

8www.jciaccraroyale.org jci.royale@gmail.com