My name is Charity Selorm A. Dzineku. I
am the manager of Lotus Flower Laboratory and Director at SAC Creations. Professionally
I am a health worker (trained both as a laboratory technician and pharmacy
assistant). I choose to be a social entrepreneur who manages a private
diagnostic laboratory and run health talks and test for banks. I also manage a
skills training center for women, where we train young girls in sewing and
beads making. We recently run a training session for some senior high schools
in our vicinity.

Determination, Vision and Passion

I would use my story
during national service to describe how these three words relate to me. I was
trained as a pharmacy technician and was due for posting to serve our nation.
We get to serve our nation for a year in an institution, hopefully to prepare
you for the workplace. I was supposed to be posted to the pharmacy in a public
hospital, but was (un)fortunately sent to the laboratory. I was given the
opportunity to change it, but I declined and saw that as an opportunity to
learn something new. I served in the laboratory for the whole year, learning on
the job things. I fell in love with the laboratory work and decided to go study
and earn a real certificate in the field. With my passion and vision for the
job, I completed, went back to the hospital and now own a private laboratory in
the local community where laboratory services are not available. I hope to own
a chain of diagnostic labs across all rural regions of Ghana and send health
services to the people who needs it most.

My mother has the greatest influence
on me.

I find it difficult to name role
models as they come in different shapes and form (could be a thing) for me. I
do have a lot of people who influence how I do somethings in life and they
sometimes change as I progress in life. I would try and name the ones that
stand out for me.

Some of my colleagues and friends
influence me positively at work and in my life. It would

be difficult to name them so I would
just say my friends who encourage me.

My mother, Akos Dzineku; is the
second. Her tenacity and perseverance to face any odd, no matter the
circumstance and still believe things would get better—and they almost always
do.

Tony Elumelu (UBA Chairman), would be
the third. His vision of africapitalism, where Africans develop Africa. He does
not only talk about developing Africa but invest in the African youth
entrepreneurs.

I would like to own a skills training
center where young women are trained to become auto mechanics and operate their
own shops in Ghana. I do have a partner I discuss this with and hopefully we
would start working on this dream soon.

Lack of opportunity and skills are the
biggest challenge African Women contend with.

In my own small way, I try to educate
young women by going to senior high schools where women related courses like
home economics and visual arts are studied and organize a training session with
them. I always train unemployed young women with beads making and sewing.

I read books, articles and watch
movies to relax.

I think women should be empowered
because when a woman is, their drive and passion always get their goals
achieved and when a woman’s dream is achieved, the family benefits. And family
is the unit of all society/world, so the society benefits in the long run.

Skills training of young women. I
believe when you are skilled, you are empowered to change your circumstance at
any given time. Skills training is one of the surest way to empower and take
women out of poverty.

I believe the first step to empowering
women is to let them know they are capable of achieving any dream. They are
ENOUGH to do anything they want to do, so long as they are willing to fight for
it. Self-belief/Self-love is the first barrier to achieving any dream.
Traditionally men are taught to believe their dreams are within their reach,
but women have to first believe they good enough to dream. When you believe
that, the sky is just starting point.