Empower Marginalized Young Women in Ghana

Denicia told us that when she joined ABAN she was just looking for a place to sleep, stay, and feel safe.

Now, a year and a half after finishing ABAN’s two-year women’s empowerment program, she is back in Secondary School or “SS” (the U.S. equivalent of high school) and her son Desmond has started nursery school.

Denicia had always dreamed of following in her grandfather’s footsteps to become a military officer. But in order to accomplish this goal, she knew she would have to return to school.

A unique donor came forward and offered to sponsor Denicia to return to secondary school after she graduate in 2012. This sponsorship was created as a revolving loan, meaning that Denicia has five years to pay it back after she graduates. Once the loan has been repaid in full, the sponsorship will be granted to another ABAN graduate who shares similar dreams of returning to school!

Denicia is currently in her final term of SS. Her favorite class is social studies because the professor tells entertaining stories that make the whole class laugh. She is on the recreational soccer team and scored the game-winning goal against their biggest rival at the end of last season! She also started a recycling initiative on her school’s campus when she saw them burning the plastic waste. The school now collects the plastic for ABAN to transform into empowering products!

We recently sat down with Denicia to catch up and hear about her plans for the future.

We asked what she saw for herself 10 years from now.

She said, “I pray I’ll be successful, that I can take care of Desmond, be employed as a soldier. I’ll be a role model to other girls and young mothers…young SINGLE mothers!”

When we asked what she defined success as, she explained, “When someone starts out rich, it’s hard to tell if they’ve been successful. But if you struggle in life…then one day you can look back and say yes, I’ve done well. I’m successful. That’s me.”