Group unveils mentorship programme for women in Akwa Ibom

A group known as Phoenix Women Leadership and Development Initiative has unveiled a mentorship programme for girls and young ladies as a part of efforts of giving back to the society and raising a new generation of achievers in Akwa Ibom State.

The scheme brings together women from various walks of life who have achieved success in their careers and is also aimed at providing a forum to harness all the talents of the women to help them in their life journey by mentorship and empowerment.

Speaking at the launch of the scheme in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, and attended by prominent women and dignitaries, the leader of the project, Ekaette Umoh said the idea behind the mentorship programme was to build the confidence of women having been a beneficiary of a mentorship scheme herself.

Umoh said when she sold the idea of forming the group, the women who were selected as mentors bought the idea and embraced it thus giving rise to the group[ and its decision to mentor the selected girls and ladies.

“All the mentors are successful in their various careers. They are very established, it a public presentation because we want to hold everybody accountable, the mentees are going to be transformed, because of the calibre of the women who are their mentors.’’

According to her, “each mentee will be made to focus on a special area of need, some people want to climb the corporate ladder faster, to break the ceiling and to even have a good start in life, some of the mentees want to expand their businesses, we will focus on different sectors of the economy during the programme.”

“Three months officially they are out, after tha they will be monitoring and evaluation to be done every year, ”

She said almost 100 ladies applied to be part of the scheme but only 37 were selected after a rigorous programme explaining that though no funds would be extended to the mentees, they would however be shown the direction that would ensure they have those things that are relevant.

Emphasizing that those who are blessed should also help other women, she said the programme was a private initiative to contribute to the growth of the society maintaining that women from Akwa Ibom were often not found at the national and global platforms.

In her remarks, Cordellia Etuk, a medical doctor and founder of Easy Health Medical Services said the programme was for women between the ages of 20 and 40 years adding that those selected must have the passion and drive to succeed.

According to her, the programme will build intergenerational bridges in raising women who would be capable of holding themselves up anywhere in the world adding that this would be achieved by harnessing all the talents of the women.

She lauded all the mentors who have volunteered their time and expertise to guide the young ladies as they navigate their careers and also urged the mentees to make the best of the mentorship programme.

In a lecture on mentorship, Nduke Usoro, a banker with many years cognate experience in the industry said mentors were shaping the next generation of women leadership by showing how they had achieved their goals in life and advised the mentees to “surround themselves with people who are going to lift you higher in life.’’

One of the mentees, Mighty Grace Ernest Essien, a second year student of the University of Uyo studying Biology Education, thanked the women group for the opportunity to be selected, adding that the scheme would build her confidence and make her not to be afraid in taking decisions.