A COLLECTIVE EFFORT TO MITIGATE A SOCIAL ISSUE WITH EDUCATION

The great teacher Confucius once said “education breeds confidence, confidence breeds hope and hope breeds peace”. This enlightening quote resonates very well with the mantra promulgated under the African Youth Education Award (AYEA) programme. That’s correct; an Award Programme!

This initiative, to give a brief background, was introduced in Hamburg by TopAfric Media House as a direct response to the growing underrepresentation of African youngsters in higher educational institutions in Germany. There is substantial evidence to suggest that whiles many of youngsters of African descent - whether born and raised in Germany or not – mostly resort to learning a vocation or trade after completing their Junior High School (Haupt/Realschulabschluss), others drop out of school completely without any qualification.

Even with those who make the effort learn a trade or vocation, reality shows that their apprenticeships mostly end without any promising job offer to enable them better their acquired skills.  The danger in tolerating this “normality and its concomitant complacency” among African youngsters is that it bridges a significantly wider gap between them and their German contemporaries as far as education and good job prospects are concerned.

In the light of the foregoing brief illustration, it is clear to see the wood for the trees: There is a dire need to bring about incentivising means geared towards motivating these youngsters so as to mitigate this apparent social issue. So far, the strategy adopted by the AYEA programme has been to hold annual awards night where students, who have pushed through to the point of entering higher education, are given awards in recognition of their perseverance and achievements.

Since its inception in 2011, this initiative has seen the commendation of over 40 African youngsters. A glimpse of the euphoria and pride drawn on the faces of both the award winners and their parents on these award nights is captivating.The pivotal question then remains: What happens next after receiving an award? Although these annual award nights are often graced with the presence of some influential politicians and other personalities of higher positions, one may rightfully ask whether the sheer presentation of awards is sufficient to instil the intended motivation without backing it up with the necessary support such sponsorship and professional connections needed to make the ultimate goal imminent.

With this in mind, take a minute to imagine how fulfilling it would be if these parents, and the African community in Germany as a whole, can boast of sons and daughters who are highly trained qualified plumbers, carpenters, architects, lawyers, medical practitioners and even parliamentarians serving this great nation Germany…

It is no doubt that the AYEA programme is a promising avenue to address the ever-growing demotivation among the African youth in Germany in pursuing academic and professional excellence. Yet, the challenges faced by this initiative in its contribution to break away from the status quo are palpable. Therefore in order to make any dents, this initiative must not be viewed as an individual but rather a collective task to be shouldered. Therefore in the light of Confucius’ quote above, it will be very nice to read in the newspaper that the approved cure for cancer was found by a young African medical doctor in Germany.

We will be helping our kids to succeed if we help African Youth Education Project to succeed.

Author: Prince Owusu Sekyere -/AYEA Recipient -Law graduate and aspiring solicitor