Vodafone Ghana Foundation through its monthly Birthday Stars initiative has engaged female youth in a recycling activity and creativity challenge to create new products using waste products.

This forms part of efforts to commemorate this year’s International Women’s Month and Global Recycling Month.

The event forms part of activities to encourage young girls to take up STEM-related courses and help recognize, and celebrate the importance recycling plays in preserving Ghana’s precious primary resources and securing the future of the earth as a whole.

Special guests for the programme included Rev. Dr Joyce Aryee, Tracy ‘Sarkcess’ Owusu Addo, and Kobby Kyei.

Speaking at the event, Country Lead for Vodafone Ghana Foundation, Amaris Nana Adjei Perbi said the project brought together different girls from various backgrounds; physically challenged, school dropouts, vocational, academics and professionals.

“To climax our March born birthday Stars project and to celebrate the International Women’s Month and Global Recycling Month, we have brought together 50 different girls from various backgrounds from physically challenged, school dropouts, vocational, academics and professionals to teach them STEM-related activities and recycling projects. Due to this productive programme, they have been able to create things that they couldn’t thought of. They have created 3D printing of various products as well as recycling waste materials to construct dustbins, washing basins and others”.

“Apart from the 3-day training prior to this creativity and recycling challenge, we are also mentoring them to come up with their own companies to earn a living out of the tremendous things they have created. We are happy that this programme has been able to equip these girls, especially the dropouts to invent their own materials. We are excited to mentor them and push their agenda to be fruitful in the society in which they dwell”, he added.

Director of Africa STEM Disability Inclusion Foundation, Victoria Osei Mensah, said it was necessary to bridge the gap between Persons with Disability and STEM, hence commended Vodafone Ghana Foundation for the initiative and partnership.

“We believe STEM education and recycling is the gateway to Ghana and Africa, contributing to its future. It reduces employment, preserves the environment and promotes sustainability in the field of work,” she said.

Dean of Engineering for Academic City University College, Dr Lucy Agyapong on her part, noted that the initiative by Vodafone Ghana Foundation is phenomenal.

“We were privileged when Vodafone Ghana Foundation approached us to partner this programme. We were very happy to make our facilities available to these young girls to get a practical hands-on experience and build things from recyclable materials for three days. This is because we are a strong advocator of everything green and this initiative is very much similar to how we teach here in Academic City.”

“We are glad to have these 50 girls here to learn and to create things out of nothing. I couldn’t be prouder to see both the abled and disabled come together to create all forms of innovative solutions for the development of our country.

"What Vodafone Ghana Foundation is doing is phenomenal and we are blessed to be part of this wonderful project. I encourage that we take this to the younger girls as well to equip them in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Engineering and all other STEM-related courses”, she added.