I was stretched to accomplish more.
Eric is filled with awe and amazement about the way technology and social media have been harnessed so effectively to impact the lives of so many across the globe before his very eyes. As the e-Mentoring lead for the CoRe Programme, he has been challenged to aspire to greater heights.
I Eric Otchere, and I had the honour of serving as the e-Mentoring Lead for the CoRe Programme. Before COVID-19, I was working as Church Administrator and a Probationer Pastor of the International Central Gospel Church in Accra, Ghana. My world was totally disrupted when COVID-19 unleashed its multiple effects upon all of us. I could not do the normal duties of a pastor including attending meetings and services, pulpit ministry, and visiting members, not to talk of going to the office to work. We were thrown into a different world altogether. One major realisation for me was that no job was secured.
When I joined the CoRe programme, initially through the Thursday hangout, Rev. Albert Ocran shared a three-part message about Talent Discovery, Development and Deployment. It set me on a path to thinking about what I have been doing with my talents, experiences, and education. I got back to blogging and started another initiative of podcasting.
The writing spurred me on to begin sending articles to news outlets such as myjoyonline.com, citifmonline, ghanaweb.com and modernghana.com. I also had the opportunity to write for some new bloggers I got to know. My eyes were totally opened to a new world of blogging and sharing daily content to help other people.
I then got the invitation to be part of the CoRe Team as the Lead for e-Mentoring. Initially, I felt it would be too much, knowing the workload at my workplace. But I was challenged to join the team and I found it amazing.
Here are a few things I have learnt:
- One, a common tool like WhatsApp can transform generations if used for educating people. Even though I knew it was possible, in my very eyes, I saw over 9,000 young people sign up to groups and be mentored.
- Two, it is possible to do more than we are doing now. I learnt as a team member that we can always stretch ourselves to do more than what we are currently doing at work. CoRe has stretched me to do more and achieve more. Coordinating over 300 mentors and assistants, 9,000 mentees and groups proved to be humbling.
Being part of CoRe is arguably one of the most fulfilling ventures I have undertaken in my entire life, even though the fallouts COVID-19 led to 2020 being described as a period of destruction.