By Constance Kane | Executive Director
Dear Friends and Supporters,
Once again, we share our news with you, and we have so much to say! From International Women’s Day to the recent Mentorship Study, planning for our biennial “National Women in Leadership Conference,” and recruitment for Cohort 4, a lot has been happening!
We begin with International Women’s Day: May 8, 2026. With the theme “Give to Gain,” 13 proposals were submitted by nine Cohort 3 Fellows and four Alumnae. The proposals fell into the following categories:
1) Mentorship, Leadership and Career Development,
2) Education Access, Literacy and Student Empowerment,
3) Digital Empowerment and Entrepreneurship,
4) Economic Empowerment and Livelihoods and
5) Maternal and Community Health.
The total direct beneficiaries were 2,200, with 1,600 being women and girls. These grassroots IWD programs reached over 50% of the 16 regions in Ghana, and a total of $3250 was distributed. We call that a great return on investment!
Mentorship has been a cornerstone of WC4E since its inception. Eager to understand its importance to our Fellows, we were heartened to learn that 7 out of 10 Fellows rated their most recent mentorship session at 4 or 5 out of five for usefulness. Our researcher noted: “Here, the magic lies in its tailored, human touch - mentors delivering not vague encouragement, but precise, actionable insights. For the Learn to Read Foundation Fellow, strategic counsel on delegation and sustainability sharpened her focus: "My mentor helped me understand that concentrating on fewer communities allows us to measure our impact more effectively," leading to smarter resource allocation and deeper community ties.
Confidence-building threads through these stories like a golden strand; the Youth Fusion Hub Fellow credited sessions with bolstering self-assurance. She recounts, the sessions ‘helped me work on my self-confidence... [and] be aware of the value I bring to the table’, empowering bolder decisions and negotiations. Equally cherished was the emotional scaffolding: mentors who did not just advise but uplifted. As one from Pordu Care Enterprise recounted, "I was motivated and celebrated. My mentor celebrated my achievements," turning solitary struggles into shared triumphs.
We were also interested in the degree to which Fellows “pay forward” mentorship in their own lives and their grassroots programs. We were thrilled to find and that a whopping 100% of our Fellows incorporate mentorship into their work! In the words of Fellow Ama Oware: ‘Mentorship, to me, is the intentional act of walking alongside someone as they discover their potential… creating a space where they can explore, ask questions, and build confidence.’
You will all be very pleased to hear that we have begun recruiting for Cohort 4! With our Board’s approval, we are expanding the size of each new cohort by 20%! Cohort 4 will have 12 Fellows and the selection process is expected to be completed by the end of July 2026.
The biennial WC4E Conference is held at the completion of the two-year Fellowship. This year the Conference will be held on August 22, 2026 in Accra, Ghana. It will be designed, organized, managed, and hosted by the Cohort 3 Fellows. According to the promotional materials, the Conference “will convene education leaders, policymakers, government representatives, civil society actors, and development partners to advance bold, practical solutions for safe, equitable and inclusive education in Ghana. Highlighting the work of Fellows, the conference will bridge grassroots innovation with national policy dialogue. It will create a collaborative platform where lived experience, research, and policy intersect to examine systemic barriers, share scalable models, and co-develop actionable strategies that ensure safe, relevant, and equitable learning environments for all learners.” We are expecting between 80 – 100 participants. The Conference will close with the Certificate Ceremony acknowledging Cohort 3’s successful completion of the Fellowship.
In closing, we hope you see the value of your support for the many important WC4E activities during this reporting period.
Kind regards,
Constance and the WC4E Team
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