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Profiling The Kufuor Scholars: Suad Ahmed Salihs
Interviewer: Tell us more about yourself.
Suad: My name is Suad Ahmed Salihs. I’m currently studying for an M. A. in Counselling Psychology at McGill University in Canada as a MasterCard Foundation Scholar. I graduated from the University of Cape Coast with a Bsc in Psychology. Before coming to Canada, I worked at the Reform Coordinating Unit at the Office of the Head of Civil Service (OHCS) under the Emerging Public Leaders (EPL) Program. That’s me in summary.
Interviewer: What kind of opportunities have the KSP brought your way over the years?
Suad: My enlistment into the Kufuor Scholars Program (KSP) marked the dawn of endless opportunities and exposures in my life. KSP enabled me to discover my hidden potentials through the well-tailored and eye-opening training in leadership and community service the program offered. Personally, the true KSP experience began after I graduated from the program because I would later discover during my National Service that the KSP experience was dovetailed towards whipping up my sense of urgency in leadership.
Interviewer: How did your involvement in the KSP help you gain the opportunity to pursue higher education?
Suad: I could have only achieved the feat of studying at McGill University as a MasterCard Foundation Scholar in part because of the support and recommendations I obtained from the Kufuor Scholars Program (KSP). I would attribute my first published academic paper and community project on post-partum depression at the Ridge Hospital, to the charge KSP imbued in me to lead initiatives in our fields that improved the lives of ordinary people in society. Little did I know, I was being prepared for a career in Counselling Psychology. KSP further gave me guidance and mentorship in preparing for school and potential career directions after school.
Interviewer: You mentioned as well that you worked in the Civil Service for some time. What was the link between that and the KSP?
Suad: I served at the Office of the Head of Civil Service (OHCS) under the EPL Program as I said. I believed EPL was a continuum of KSP as it afforded me the opportunity to apply the skills of leadership, development, and governance I had obtained from KSP in the real world. At OHCS, due to my background in psychology, I presented a preliminary paper on the development of a counseling unit for the public service institutions. I partook in key meetings of public sector reforms, as well as reviewed and edited reports from various ministries for onward operationalization and implementation by higher state authorities. My instrumentality in the tasks assigned to me could only be the result of the community immersion experiences I gained at our Atebubu leadership camp as Kufuor Scholars many years ago.
Interviewer: That’s great. Any final words?
Suad: Although I am away in Canada, the sense of community and responsibility encumbered by the Kufuor Scholars Program continues to spur me on to want to achieve greater heights. But, most importantly, I still feel inspired to lead initiatives that improve the lives of ordinary people in Ghana. And I remain committed to that. Many thanks to former President John Agyekum Kufuor, the John A. Kufuor Foundation, and the Kufuor Scholars Program for all that they have invested in us as scholars.
If you are touched by the experience of this young person and would want to support former President Kufuor’s vision to train more young people into effective leaders, please email the coordinator of the Kufuor Scholars Program Dr. Pascal Brenya at drpascal@kufuorscholarsprogram.com, or call +233 264 538 538