As the year ends, we celebrate one of our dedicated Senior Trainers, Francis Fernaldinho Manu. In this write up, Francis shares his experiences with the organisation since he joined the ACA family in July 2020 vis-a-vis his efforts at empowering young girls at Donkro Nkwanta, his hometown, through his annual beauty pageant “Miss Nkwanta.”
It has always been my passion to see smiles on the faces of people I encounter, especially if I, in a way, contribute to improve their living conditions. In fact, I become even more elated to be a part of any positive impact made on human life and so I have always wanted to fend not for myself alone but for the people around me as well. From my days as a footballer to my current place of work, I have always been ready to defend the lives of the under-privileged.
Journey to ACA
The drama surrounding my recruitment process has been an unforgettable moment. I still recall sending my application documents at 10:37pm on the deadline day, which, in my view, made me the very last person to do so. Barely a month after the submission of my application, a call came through, informing me that I had been shortlisted for an interview on the next Monday.
Oh my God, the energy in me rose to 80% because I knew I was going to put up my all to land this job and so I spent the few days left for the interview to prepare feverishly.
I was quite nervous on the day of the interview since I had no idea how it was going to go and was glued to my phone waiting to hear from my interviewers. My body temperature started going up when I lost the network on my phone at the time I was anxiously waiting for ACA’s call for the interview to begin on the phone. At this point, I started sweating and murmuring, and didn’t know what to do.
At long last, the network finally came back at about 1:30pm and about two and half hours later, the interview finally came off. It was not as intimidating as I had envisaged. My interviewers wanted to hear about my motivations and what had drawn me to make an impact in society. Having been a teacher before and drawing from my MISS NKWANTA BEAUTY PAGEANT experiences over the years, where I have been empowering young women to be self-confident to make an impact in Nkoranza South, I had much to share with the panel.
I left the interview feeling more excited than ever, though unsure if I would be considered for the job. A month after, an email popped up from the Community Driven Development Director and it read, “Dear Francis, you have been hired! Honestly, I cannot find the right words to describe the moment. “Wow, finally, I got it!!!” I remember exactly my first words as I screamed. I was so happy and could not wait to join my dream job.
Early days in ACA
My journey in ACA has been fulfilling. From the first day I stepped in the Accra office to meet the Executive Director and the entire team I realized I was introduced into a family that is passionate about human rights and community development rather than a normal working environment. I told myself; I have a lot to learn. “Welcome to ACA, Francis!” This was how Jonathan welcomed me to ACA, and it still echoes in my mind. The entire team was very receptive to me, and I really felt at home as I hit the road running as a Community Trainer.
Little did I know that I was going to work directly under Mr. Nimako, who was one of the primary school teachers. Mr. Nimako and my hard working and committed Director of CDD, Nana Ama, ensured that I became well versed in my area of work, a situation which helped me to settle quite easily
Life at Osino
My duty station has been in Osino since I joined ACA, and my core duties from the beginning were to mobilize and facilitate community meetings to help them achieve a development vision and help draw these communities closer to the local government. I was also tasked to assist our legal team in their quest to fight for equal rights for all our partner communities. I have been meeting chiefs and community leaders, having community wide meetings, meeting Municipal and District Chief Executives, local government staff and other government officials including sitting in some strategic meetings. Currently as a Senior Trainer, I train Trainers and Community Based Facilitators as well as supervise several communities implementing the Facilitated Collective Action Process (FCAP). The joy at work has gone up with the addition of more Trainers who share the same passion with me.
Encouragements
I am encouraged by the compliments by some of my community members. “Whenever I see you, I am reminded to do something to impact my community.” These are the words of some of my community members which really motivate me to always give my best. With the coming on board of George Mpoah, a colleague who is more than a brother, we have been stepping up our efforts at assisting our partner communities to chart a development path in line with the medium-term development plan of their local assembly.
Looking back, I feel fulfilled to be a part of a project and a process that resulted in bringing some visible improvements in the lives of people. Despite the challenges faced with community work, my impact has seen several communities developed in diverse ways with better health facilities, schools, good drinking water, and some improving their livelihoods in soap making projects and many more. Also, assisting our legal team get better compensation for abused farmers is something that will remain with me forever.
With ACA, I’ve grown both personally and professionally in ways I never imagined. While I keep learning and drawing from experiences, I look forward to making greater impacts in communities in the coming years with this organization.
Honestly, the lessons I’ve learned are invaluable, and the sense of purpose I feel every day is something I wouldn’t trade for anything. If there’s one thing that stands out to me from this journey, it’s that advocacy work isn’t just a job- it’s a calling.
I wish all ACA staff a prosperous New Year!
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