CARE International Honors National Service Persons at Ceremony

CARE International in Ghana has hosted a ceremony at its Accra office, celebrating the contributions of ten outgoing National Service Persons (NSPs) while welcoming a new cohort of nineteen for the 2024/25 service year. This event highlights CARE’s commitment to developing young talent for sustainable development, focusing on capacity building, youth employability, and mentorship.

Country Director of CARE International in Ghana, Rose Tchwenko, expressed deep gratitude to the departing NSPs, acknowledging their dedication and the positive impact of their work. “Our outgoing personnel have left a positive mark on CARE Ghana. I am proud of all you’ve accomplished and look forward to seeing you continue as ambassadors for our mission,” she said. Rose intimated a soon-to-be-launched initiative, a CARE Alumni Community – to support former NSPs in their professional development and networking.

The guest of honor at the event, Director General of the National Service Authority (NSA), Hon. Osei Assibey Antwi, commended CARE International’s efforts in training the youth through opportunities to serve. Reflecting on the NSA’s mission to equip young Ghanaians with vital professional skills, he said, “The work of CARE Ghana reflects NSA’s vision to develop the next generation of leaders.”

The NSA, which recently transitioned from a scheme to an authority under new legislation, has expanded its role to deploy service personnel and provide them with employable skills. Hon Assibey-Antwi noted that this year alone, the NSA is mobilizing around 150,000 graduates across various sectors, generating savings of approximately GH¢3 billion in wage costs while supporting Ghana’s development goals.

For years, CARE has taken on national service persons who are placed in different roles across the organization’s programs, offering hands-on experience in fields such as gender equality and economic development. These initiatives give young Ghanaians practical skills and insights into the complexities of developmental work, helping them grow as professionals and contributing to a network of highly skilled individuals.

The Country Director emphasized youth employability as one of the key pillars of CARE Ghana’s engagement with NSA. By offering hands-on experience and professional development opportunities, CARE equips young people with skills that enhance their readiness for the job market and contribute to their long-term career success.

Head of Programmes and Humanitarian at CARE Ghana, Zakaria Yakubu, shared some encouraging words with the incoming NSPs, advising them to treat every experience as a steppingstone for growth. “Take every experience here as an opportunity to broaden your skills and perspectives,” he advised, emphasizing the importance of resilience and open-mindedness in their new roles.

The ceremony also featured an experience-sharing session where departing NSPs reflected on their achievements and offered insights to the incoming cohort. Farewell gifts were presented as tokens of gratitude for their dedication and service to CARE.

CARE International has been present in Ghana for over 30 years, delivering impactful programs focused on health, education, food security, and economic development. CARE places special focus on working alongside women and girls. Equipped with the proper resources, women and girls have the power to lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty. In 2024, CARE worked in 121 countries, reaching 53 million people through 1,450 projects.