I want to share a story that may seem not too good!
When we started CAMYLEADS, I received calls from loved ones and friends asking if I was being paid to promote organizations offering opportunities. That wasn't the case. I've never received payment from any organization, and CAMYLEADS wasn't created for temporary social media fame.
One of our main goals is to expose young people to international academics and opportunities that I didn't qualify for, but others may.
Growing up in an underserved community like New-Takoradi, it's understandable why I preferred fishing over academics - I didn't know any better.
As someone from a poor town, yet rich in talents, like New-Takoradi, I agree with Barack Obama that my story wouldn't have been possible anywhere else on earth and that I owe a debt to education and people like my former headmistress, Mrs. Gladys Sam, who ensured I completed my education and never gave up.
In my community, I saw talented youth trapped in karate and ghetto life, leading to stories like Kinsley Ofosu's - The Deadly Voyage.
As a poor boy who grew up with a caring mother (later discovered to be my grandmother, after her passing), I understood the importance of supportive mentorship and special love.
So, while my secondary school education delayed, I built a blackboard on our home wall and used this period to teach kids in my community, hoping they wouldn't face the same challenges.
One of these students, Samuel, now a Roman Catholic Reverend Father, still calls me a name ('Sir') which makes me feel like our efforts, born out of passion for others, are appreciated by nature and time. That's the beauty of mentorship and CAMYLEADS' heart.
I hope to see CAMYLEADS raise youth icons in communities like mine, who will be so kind that people will ask, 'Why are you still helping? Does anyone else pay you for this?'
Today, as we share this 'not too good' story and reflect on our journey together, I know CAMYLEADS owes a debt to everyone who supported us, everyone who lifts others without a second thought.