Verso January 2018 Magazine

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Inspiratio

atrick Awuah is the founder and president of Ashesi University, a private, not-for-profit institution that has quickly gained a reputation for innovation and quality education in Ghana.

Before founding Ashesi University, Patrick worked as a Program Manager for Microsoft where, among other things, he spearheaded the development of dial-up internet working technologies and gained a reputation for bringing difficult projects to completion.

He holds bachelor degrees in Engineering and Economics from Swarthmore College, and an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. In 2004, Swarthmore awarded Patrick an honorary doctorate in recognition of his leadership in African higher education.

He also holds an honorary Doctor of Laws awarded by Babson College.

Patrick was nominated as a Global Leader 2007 by the World Economic Forum; and in recognition of his service to Ghana, was awarded Membership of the Order of the Volta by His Excellency, President J.A. Kufuor in July 2007. The Order of the Volta is one of Ghana’s highest awards, given to individuals who exemplify the ideal of service to the country.

In November 2009, he won two prestigious awards; the 2009 Microsoft Alumni Foundation “Integral Fellow” award a program honoring Microsoft Alumni who have made a meaningful difference in the daily lives of others

on by using their talents, time and resources to contribute to the community and the John P. McNulty Prize, Aspen Institute which also recognizes an extraordinary young leader making creative, effective, and lasting contributions to his or her community.

In May, 2010 he was nominated as the 8th Ghana’s Most Respected CEO voted out the top ten in Ghana (ranking based on a survey of 208 CEOs). He was again nominated among the ten Most Respected CEOs in Ghana in 2012, ranking 4th in that year.

On December 4, 2010 in recognition of his exceptional leadership in the area of education, he was awarded the Millenium Excellence Award for Educational Development.

He is a Fellow of the Africa Leadership Initiative (a branch of the Aspen Global Leadership Network), a member of the United States Council on Foreign Relations, the Pacific Council on International Policy, and the United States Tau Beta Pi honor society for excellence in engineering.

In November 2009, he won two prestigious awards; the 2009 Microsoft Alumni Foundation “Integral Fellow” award a program honoring Microsoft Alumni who have made a meaningful difference in the daily lives of others by using their talents, time and resources to contribute to the community and the John P. McNulty Prize, Aspen Institute which also recognizes an extraordinary young leader making creative, effective,

and lasting contributions to his or her community.

In May, 2010 he was nominated as the 8th Ghana’s Most Respected CEO voted out the top ten in Ghana (ranking based on a survey of 208 CEOs). He was again nominated among the ten Most Respected CEOs in Ghana in 2012, ranking 4th in that year.

On December 4, 2010 in recognition of his exceptional leadership in the area of education, he was awarded the Millenium Excellence Award for Educational Development.

He is a Fellow of the Africa Leadership Initiative (a branch of the Aspen Global Leadership Network), a member of the United States Council on Foreign Relations, the Pacific Council on International Policy, and the United States Tau Beta Pi honor society for excellence in engineering.

Source : http://www.ashesi.org/about/ourteams/patrick-awuah-biography/

SMILE, meaning Serving Many In Love Everywhere is a group comprising 7 tertiary ladies. We aim to help unprivileged children between the ages of 0-13 in the least way possible. On December 28th, 2016, the NGO was established.

The first project embarked on was project DO IT FOR THE KIDS. During the project, a Christmas fundraising sale themed Sprinkles and Spices was held. Each member of SMILE took up a stand and sold various foods: kebab, milkshakes, waffles, cupcakes and many more. Money earned from this sale contributed to helping those diagnosed with kwashiorkor at the Accra Children’s Hospital. The support from another NGO, Crystal Ladies made the event a complete success.

This year 2017, we are again embarking on another: project LOVE IS A VERB; the foundation is putting love into action by providing the pupils of Ashaiman SDA Basic School with adequate stationery for studies. We are soliciting people for funds and selling customised SMILE pens to raise money for this worthy cause.

The world will work for us if we create a world that works for all.

This world has not included the blind and remember that life is an ever-changing journey and ageing is inevitable; life is surprising. Disability of blindness can affect our parents, our best friends, siblings and even ourselves. So when the time comes, don’t you want this world to be ready and designed for you?

Be an advocate for the blind and impaired persons. Join the campaign to create a better world for the blind.

Tech Era

TechEra_Gh

techera_gh

Tech Era Gh

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IVE is an outreach program which aims to encourage people with deformities and the less privileged in society who feel are not good

not good enough because they are socially ridiculed and are humanly different. We challenge them to face the world boldly, quit living behind the scenes, ordinary lives that only benefit their immediate circle; LIVE helps them become aware of the importance of their existence and contribution to society.

Join us March 6th, 2018 as we travel to the Ashanti Region School of the Deaf to enlighten those with special needs on how to embrace who they are despite their disabilities.

For more enquiries and sponsorship, contact us on +233501596901 or +23326321456 You can follow our Instagram page LIVE OUTREACH LIVE-Loving your life, Inspiring your life, Visualising a bright future and Embracing it LIVE, Your Life Matters.

Yaw Sam

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y name is Yaw Sam, current student of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

While at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST), I started an IT company called softTECH, with the aim of providing affordable IT services to students. I started this because I felt there was the need for students on campus to get professional IT services but at a reasonable price because of the challenge of having to pay a lot of money to people when students can actually work for themselves at a faster pace and for a much affordable price. At the time, I got a few people who believed in my vision to help me get it running. Our hallmark is to provide very affordable but quality services.

Right now, there are 20 staff in SOFTTECH

which has 3 departments: Programming, Graphic Designs and Marketing Departments.

Later in October 2017, SoftTECH launched SPREADiT, a non-profit organization aimed at helping spread IT literacy to schools in deprived communities. To help young people gain basic IT skills that would eventually help them in pursuing their higher education. SoftTECH is currently building various apps and websites that would aim at improving the education system in Ghana. We are also working on establishing a branch in the United States.

When it comes to starting a business, company or even a project, the only thing that stops you from starting is not money or resources, it is yourself. I started

SoftTECH when I literally had nothing. All I had to start with was 50 cedis. We used all that money for the printing of flyers which turned out to help get a few customers to get us started and running. There is no process for starting a business, you only need to have the drive and passion. Yes, there are a lot of challenges, but the earlier you face those, the more experience you gain. Don’t wait or procrastinate when it comes to starting a business. No matter how small you start, you’ll not stay at the same place. Don’t wait with an excuse of getting enough money before you start. Money is never the answer! Be passionate about what you do and you’ll get to the level you aspire to

get to.

What motivates me is my desire to make the world a better place than I came to meet it. I believe we all have a role to play in making this world a better place, and that is what drives me everyday to achieve good results.

Series 2

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arketing goes deeper than just a set of skills taught and learnt from a hard copy textbook or online. Most people prefer to learn marketing through teaching, but it should come from within to obtain the best results. Marketing in short is letting others know the worth of what you do.

Aside telling others what your product or service entails, how you do it and the value you add to what you do is the point of the process- and that there is marketing.

These little add-ons make your customer interested and might even open more doors for your expansion by the spread of what you do.

That is the power your marketing has!

Research by Nicole Amoo-Yankey

Verso’s Icon of the Month

Kingsley Holgate Born under the African skies on February 28th 1948 was Kingsley Holgate in Natal, South Africa. He is said to be the man who has travelled the most in Africa by the Getway Magazine. After his expeditions he turns his adventures into books where others can also have a feel of him mentally. After several expeditions , it was time for him to give back to Africa. Kingsley Holgate Foundation was founded by him with the aims of bettering the lives of those he came across through his adventures. He has launched campaigns such as One Net, One Life, The Right To Sight and

Teaching On The Edge through which he gave out thousands of mosquito nets to people to help eradicate malaria through the cheapest means, providing glasses to aid those with eye defects to be able to resume their basic activities like sewing and beadwork to aid the community as well as providing teaching resources and mobile libraries to remote areas in the society to improve literacy.

As buff and bulky as he may be he has a soft spot for the people in the environment.

Reference: kingsleyholgate.com

BIJOUX A

As a child, I used to sew tons of clothes for my many dolls. After many attempts, I managed to fashion a blouse for myself with significant help from my mother. Interestingly, I never really liked sewing clothes but after watching my mom who specialises in soft furnishings and accessories besides clothing, I gained interest in bags.

Bijoux started somewhere in 2014 when I designed a pencil case for myself for school. Everyone who saw it loved it and the rest, as they say, is history. Now I do not only make pencil cases but backpacks, side bags, purses, hair bands and the like. I chose the name ‘bijoux’ as it is French for jewel and I believe my products are pure jewels made from fabric.

OCCASIONS P

utting more thought into your appearance is one of the easiest ways yo improve your social prospects and the way people see you. Knowing what is appropriate to wear on any occasion requires as much good taste as it takes to dress elegantly. Appropriateness, good grooming and the adherence to the dress code are keys to having clothing etiquette.

There are so many occasions to consider. Some may be formal, informal, or semi formal and yet some hosts may theme their event black tie, white tie etc whatever the case, one must arise to the occasion. Always a good idea to be sure of what is expected before showing up.

Another factor that matters is the culture of the people.

Things that may be the norm in one setting may be offensive in another.

A sampling of occasions will be considered in this write up. This includes those kind of events that everyone has to be at every once in a while.

Family Get-together or Birthday Party These are the commonest occasions on anyone’s calendar.

The code is casual (unless themed otherwise) so go laid back with your choices and get comfortable. Anything goes. The stylists say “ if you are a lady, wear a sundress, a skirt or pants with a pretty top to a casual event. If you are not a Lady wear khakis with button-down, sweater or polo shirt.”

The simplest code to dressing is to dress largely according to your physique, time and season to keep alive the elegance and comfort at the same time.

Weddings.

There are different varieties of them around the globe and the differences in each context must be considered. In the African context it is a formal affair and dressing should be

as such. Colours should generally be lighter shades. Ladies can wear dresses while men can wear suits. What you wear to a wedding depends greatly on where the wedding is set.

It is the practice nowadays to set theme colours for weddings. Guests should look out for the colour of the invitation stationery or as stated in the invitation.

Business dinner A business dinner calls for a refined, elegant and subtle outfit.. You want to keep things professional and yet look gorgeously dressed. The dress code is “smart casual”. You can wear a smart skirt or trousers with a dressy blouse and blazer or sweater or a classic dress with modest heels. A conservative LBD ( little black dress) is also quite appropriate for a business dinner. You can also try a sheath or a wrap dress in a dark shade. Look sharp, look professional.

That’s the mantra.

Black tie event A black tie event is one of the most formal dress codes.

Women generally wear floor length gowns, but nowadays, exceptions can be made.

Traditionally long dresses are more formal than short ones but, these distinctions are fast fading now. However, a long dress remains the safest option for all, as it is always special and appropriate for any black tie event. The neckline should be tasteful but the sleeve length is optional.

Floor length, short or three quarters length evening gowns with evening sandals or pumps and an evening bag of silk, velvet, peau de soie, or brocade material with some sparkly earrings and bracelets and a simple gold or silver necklace are appropriate.

Prom.

You should feel beautiful, unique and comfortable in your prom dress. If you sacrifice one for the other, you may not get as much out of your prom experience as you otherwise could.

Dresses should be modest and classy. Prom dresses can either be long or short. If going for a long dress, make sure that the hem works for your height. If opting for a short dress, go for one that is no shorter than mid-thigh length.

Any hemline shorter than that tends to drain all sense of elegance out of the dress. Also choose colours that flatter your skin tone and look at dresses that work for your body type.

Refine your taste and learn how to select the best. That is the proper dressing etiquette.

There is much more to our dressing than we might imagine.

Our dressing says a great deal about who we are and influence all kinds of impressions. People make snap judgements about us from the clothes we wear. They draw conclusions about our personality from the way we look. So if you think “opinions” don’t matter, “impressions” might do which is why “dressing” most certainly matters.

Dressing is an art obviously, the art of knowing how to carry.ourselves during various occasions we partake in.

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oftTECH provides a wide array of services tailored to fit your specific IT needs.

Whether it is website designing, graphic

designs or app development, we’ve got you covered. Why use several IT companies for one specific project when you can find the perfect and complete package from SoftTECH which comes out more affordable and professional.

SoftTECH was founded in August, 2016 in Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology.

This company was established to help cater for the needs of students who would need IT services which are both very affordable and professional. However, SoftTECH has received contracts from individuals and startups all over the world. Our services include; Software Installations, Graphic Designs, Web & App Development, Data Recovery and Social Media Advertising.

As part of the services the company provides, we undertake projects on an annual basis.

These projects may provide help to challenges we face in the society.

The team at SoftTECH is a group of highly motivated student professionals who have acquired skills in the classroom and are using it

on the field. We give students the opportunity to work while in school in order to get hands on experience.

MISSION: To provide excellent and affordable services to clients by providing technological solutions to all sorts of problems.

VISION: To use technology and ICT to help in the advancement of the world and to make life easier and better for people.

CORE VALUES: Honesty: We believe in providing customers with the best service through honesty as a virtue.

Excellence: We serve customers with our ultimate best and with accuracy amounting to excellence.

Respect: We treat our customers with utmost respect and out of courtesy.

Teamwork: As a company, we believe in teamwork as a key to effective work and excellence.

SoftTECH currently runs a non-profit organization called SPREADiT GH which aims at helping educate and teach kids in deprived communities basic computer skills and knowledge and also to help inspire them in the field of information technology.

Contact us: Phone: +233 26 725 2687 (Ghana) +1 956 212 2950 Website: www.softtechghana.com Email: softtechgh@gmail.com Facebook: SoftTECH Instagram: @softtech_gh Twitter: @SoftTECHGh

Deja vu Chapter 1 Kodjo

First ever story series in a magazine Ptaaa…… The classroom suddenly became quiet as the sound continue to ring in everyone’s ears. They had their eyes focused on the drama unfolding in front of the class. I placed my hand on my cheek as if it was going to reduce the pain that had just surged through my entire body. A tear from my eye dropped unto the table right in front of me with a large splat sound that the last person at the back of the class heard it. All hell broke loose, tears began to trickle quickly down my cheeks.

“Aseda, what was that for?” I broke the silence, even though it was a little louder than a murmur to me, it sounded as if I was yelling.

“Wake up.” I heard a distant voice say. I felt a tap on my shoulder, that’s when I realized I was sitting on a chair with my head on a table.

I jerked my head back to discover a pool of saliva on the table and I quickly covered it so that no one would see it.

“Kodjo, it is time to go home.” Aseda’s voice broke my state of confusion. I turned to my right to discover a tall slender girl standing beside me. Her brown eyes stared at my confused face, she smiled and a pit formed on both sides her cheeks, her small nose twitched and she chuckled. He smile was so infectious I also began to smile. I continued to stare at her with a smile on my face and began to fell stupider as moments passed by. She giggled and laughed a bit.

“You have something on your…….” She pointed to the side of my chin and handed a tissue paper still chuckling. I felt so stupid, I was so busy admiring her face that I didn’t notice the slimy drool running down the side of my chin like okra soup.

“By the way I am Aseda.” She smiled and extended her hand for a handshake. I froze.

My left hand was wiping drool off my face, my right hand was covering more drool on the table.

“Erm….can I have more tissue.” I chuckled nervously.

“Sure.” She searched her bag and removed some for me.

“I am Kodjo, but I am sure you already know that.” I said trying to avoid her face while busily wiping the drool off the table.

“Your mom is waiting for you, see you tomorrow.” She smiled and waved at me as she modeled out of the class. My first day at Grey’s international and I ended up it by drooling in front of the prettiest, most popular girl in the class.

Aseda.

I was awake but I didn’t want to move, I could hear my mom banging on the door but that did little in influencing me to get off my bed.

“Aseda Nyamekye Afriyie!!” She shook the

Watch out for the next c

whole house with her voice. “You, sleep, I am going to bring the spare key.” She stormed off. I sat up lazily and the moment I heard footsteps toward my door and the jiggling of keys I hurried into bathroom. She entered the room after trying about five bunches of keys.

“So you heard me calling you and you decided to ignore me. She stood at my bathroom door, fuming with her hands on her waist, her usual morning gesture. I simply smiled and continued to brush my teeth.

“Hurry up. Your breakfast is getting cold.” She stormed out of the room.

“Maa yie, where is my food please?” I entered the kitchen all dressed up and ready for school.

“On the dining table and hurry up else I will be late for work.” She replied. I opened the bowl covering my breakfast and IT WAS OATS. “Maa! You know I don’t like oat.” I lamented.

“Well, there’s nothing I can do about it now.”

She said trying to keep a serious expression but I could see a smile lurking at the corners of lips. I complained no more and decided to boycott breakfast. Sometimes my mother acts like a child, I am very sure this was a ploy to punish me for not minding her this morning.

I said nothing on the way to school, while my mother sang victory songs like a child, me being the grown up decided to end the cycle of revenges before they even began, so I decided not to retaliate.

“Bye.” I waved her off as she dropped me off and left for work.

“Aseda!” I heard a voice from the fore the class, it was Ntim’s, my pretentious boyfriend, he was running towards me with his arm wide open.

“Hold it right there!” I stretched out my hand with my palm facing him, gesturing him to stop.

“I am not in the mood for this.” I said and slid chapter,

past him, the class immediately became deafeningly silent after which there was an uproar of laughter.

“In fact it’s over between us.” I looked back at him and said after taking a few steps forward.

He stood there dumbfounded as I made my way to my seat.

“You shouldn’t have done that.” The first thing Hannah, said to me when I sat down, not even a ‘Good morning’ “Done what?” I asked feigning obliviousness.

“Dump him in front of the whole class.”

“That’s none of your business.” I snapped at her as she quickly swallowed the rest of comments she had to make. The moment I turned my head to the fore of the class, I saw a short, cute boy standing there in a light blue jeans and a black sweatshirt. He fidgeted with his hands shyly as he stood in front of the class. I was just about to confront him when our class teacher, Madam Sharon, aka Terminator, as the boys call her barged into the class.

“Go on, introduce yourself.” She said just before she got to the fore of the class.

“Okay. I….I am Nana Kodjo, Kodjo spelt as K-O-D-J-O, Robinson.” He paused as if he was expecting some sort of reaction from the class.

“I am 15 years old……” It looked like he hadn’t finished but he still fidgeting nervously so Madam Sharon pulled him out of his misery.

“Okay, welcome to Grey’s international, take your seat there.” Madam Sharon pointed to the seat behind me and he began to move towards me. As he drew nearer to me I could see through his photochromic glasses, my heart stopped for five seconds. He noticed my expression and smiled at me. By the time I realized he was smiling at me, he had sat down, so I turned to say hi to him. His blue eyes met mine and I was mesmerized, I just couldn’t stop staring.