About 30 tertiary students have participated in the Kufuor Scholars Program’s leadership boot camp.

The newly recruited Kufuor Scholars spent 2 weeks on the campus of the Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED) in Asante Mampong.

They participated in workshops, excursions, mentorship sessions, and other related activities.

The scholars participated in a series of lectures and seminars focusing on leadership, career development, and personal development, among others.

Seasoned personalities including former UT Bank CEO Capt. Prince Kofi Amoabeng, author Dr Samuel Koranteng – Pipim, data analyst Samuel Otuo Serebour, accomplished entrepreneur Dr Michael Addo, and CEO of the John A. Kufuor Foundation, Prof. Baffuor Agyeman-Duah, interacted with the students.

“For Ghana to work, we need to be leaders who have strong work ethics and the courage to take initiative, have a sense of urgency, and be disciplined,” Prof. Agyeman-Duah told the students.

The scholars also interacted with two Members of Parliament; Pru East MP Dr Kwabena Donkor and Nkoranza South MP Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum.

Mr Agyekum encouraged the young leaders and citizens generally to be analytical, assertive, and resolute. He also entreated young people to eschew individuality, embrace teamwork, and be patriots.

The scholars visited the Asante Mampong Palace where they were orientated on the traditions and history of Asante Mampong and the Asante kingdom.

The scholars additionally embarked on community engagements within the Asante Mampong and Meminaso No 1 communities. They also undertook trips to Yeji, Makango, and the Fiema Monkey Sanctuary.

“Life beyond the big city feels like a quite uncomfortable one if we're being euphemistic,” one of the scholars observed after the visit to Meminaso No 1, a community along the Ejura-Nkoranza road between the Ashanti and Bono regions.

"The community has only one source of water, River Abena, that serves the people and livestock.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to learn, unlearn, and relearn. Indeed, the doing and undoing of a great leader start and ends with his/her mindset,” one other scholar added.

The scholars also participated in focus group exercises during which they made presentations on specific problems in society, and came up with simple, yet sustainable solutions to combat them.

Dr Pascal Brenya who is the Coordinator of the Kufuor Scholars Program led the students to conduct an MBTI personality test and took them through trust-building simulations.

Prior to the leadership camp, the scholars visited former President John Agyekum Kufuor to interact with him.

The former president launched the Kufuor Scholars Program in 2014 to offer mentoring and coaching opportunities for tertiary students.

The initiative run by the John A. Kufuor Foundation has the overarching objective of mentoring a critical mass of future change agents who are imbued with a strong sense of patriotism.

It seeks to imbibe the former president’s effective leadership skills in these tertiary-level students so they can help develop the nation. More than 150 young people have benefitted so far.