Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has expressed joy about the impact being made by the Kufuor Scholars Program (KSP); following disclosure, a lot of the alumni are making great strides.

Some scholars, their mentors, and officials from the John A. Kufuor Foundation paid a courtesy call on the former president at his home on Friday.

Briefing the former president and coordinator of the KSP, Dr Pascal Brenya, disclosed that since the pioneering class of 14 scholars was inaugurated in 2016, 145 tertiary students have since benefitted from the three-year training and mentorship program.

Currently, the program has 84 scholars in training and an alumni group of 58 successfully trained young leaders. The alumni group consists of 32 females and 26 males.

Seventeen alumni have either completed or are furthering their studies in institutions of higher learning such as Oxford University, London School of Economics, Royal Holloway University, Georgia State University, University of Ghana, and the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College, to mention a few.

They have participated in and given presentations at various local and international conferences, including the BXIA Asia Leadership Program, World Forum for Democracy organised by the European Union, European Center for Development Policy Management (ECDPM) conferences, UN youth conferences, Clinton Foundation conferences, and YALI conferences, among others.

Fifteen alumni are currently fully employed, 16 have part-time jobs, and three are self-employed.

Dr Brenya disclosed the scholars' program has built strong partnerships with many local and international institutions to help provide scholarship and internship opportunities for the scholars and alumni.

Partnerships have been established with the MountCrest University College, BXIA Asia Leadership Program, James Madison University, and the University of Denver, both in the USA.

The scholars told the former president the program has greatly impacted their lives positively.

“Right from our inauguration, the journey has been nothing but great. At each point in the journey, I was reminded to be the transformative leader who does what is right at the right time.

"I am grateful for the opportunities, and I intend to do more,” Victoria Antwi, who is an alumnus, told the former President.

Esther Emmanuella Spio, another alumnus, said; “the sustained network of friends, mentors, and advisors, coupled with the transformational leadership training that I received during my three-year period as a Scholar, culminated in my present placement at the Finance Ministry through the Emerging Public Leaders (EPL) Fellowship Program. Believe me when I say that KSP’s leadership training has been helpful in moulding me into who I am today.”

Former President Kufuor commended the scholars' program and the scholars for making good strides. He expressed confidence the results of ongoing efforts to imbibe quality leadership in them will greatly benefit several sectors of the Ghanaian economy.

“All human interventions need sound leadership. Leadership can be at any level beyond political. And even in areas of education, entrepreneurship, and so on. This is building you up for that,” the former president said.

The John A. Kufuor Foundation launched the Kufuor Scholars Program in 2015 as its flagship program. It was inspired by the former President’s vision to help raise good leaders to transform Ghana and Africa’s place in the world.

The former president set up the program to add value to formal education by offering specialised orientation through programmed mentorship, coaching, skills training, and experiential activities targeted at tertiary students. In addition, it aims to imbue the youth with a strong sense of patriotism and integrity.

The Kufuor Scholars Program has the overarching and long-term goals of The John A. Kufuor Foundation, which are to promote effective leadership, good governance, and socio-economic development.

The scholars are nurtured to embrace good democratic governance as a developmental imperative and the framework for achieving social cohesion and peaceful co-existence.

The scholars are also primed to be change agents who seek to transform the socio-economic circumstance of Ghana and Africa and contribute to advancing the well-being of society.

Specifically, the program seeks to cultivate the next crop of transformational leaders; who are patriotic, selfless, and community-oriented.

It also seeks to empower young scholars with ethical problem-solving skills and creative thinking skills towards success in their respective careers and leadership roles for national development.

The program guides young scholars to become agents of social change for political tolerance, ethnic and religious co-existence, and national orientation for sustainable development.