Springboard Road Show Foundation

Sylvia Akuffo

Intervention: CoRe

I learnt to build resilience and strength. 

Sylvia has learnt how to build resilience in the face of unexpected situations including COVID-19 and its effects. She has developed the agility and mental strength needed to prevail and thrive amid crisis moments.

My name is Sylvia Akuffo, e-Counselling Lead for the CoRe Programme. Before COVID-19, I was primarily at home taking care of my family because a project I was working on had just ended. As a stay-at-home mother, I faced a lot of mental stress and anxiety with the outbreak of COVID-19. I was burdened with the uncertainties and risks of the pandemic and the effect it could have on my family, especially because some close family members because of the nature of their work had no option but to go out very often. I was honestly very scared, asking so many questions such as “what if they contracted the virus and what if the whole family subsequently contracted it?”

Joining the CoRe Programme within that period and being the lead on the e-Counselling intervention of the programme, I was fortunate to be exposed to most of the counselling sessions on the programme. I must confess I benefitted immensely from the sessions. I learnt how to deal with unexpected situations including COVID, building and developing my mental strength to go through crisis moments, bouncing forward and being more resilient in all situations.

I consequently became better able to manage my anxieties especially as a family person. I learnt and became more relaxed and encouraged close relations to strictly adhere to the precautionary measures and protocols of COVID as part of the learnings received in dealing with my anxieties relating to COVID. The programme has really helped me to build my mental strength and be better placed to deal with my anxieties, which hitherto was a challenge.

Prior to joining the programme, I never imagined that social media and, in this case, WhatsApp could be utilized to implement a huge programme such as CoRe and impact the lives of thousands of young people in Ghana and even beyond. I have thus come to realize through the CoRe programme that it is possible to transform and even save lives virtually by putting in place the right infrastructure and systems.