The following reports are activities carried out by the Sharing Education and Learning for Life (SELL) Programme Ghana’s Resource Team and trainee volunteers in February 2022.

The Sharing Education and Learning for Life Programme Ghana has conducted a 2nd Mentoring Training for some volunteer facilitators in the Wa zone.
The purpose of the training is to build their capacity to understand mentoring as they take up the additional role as support persons for the SELL Programme Ghana.
It took place, Feb. 4-6, at the Spiritual Renewal Centre in Wanye – a suburb of Wa, Upper West Region. It was a follow-up training held last year which gave them an opening perspective on mentoring.
The participatory processes helped the support persons explore further the meaning of mentoring, their experiences of being mentored and awareness-raising on human trafficking.
As the work of SELL grows, their supporting roles will be needed to help the Resource Team reach other communities in the zone.

​Step-down workshops were organized in Busunu and Tuna in the Savannah Region, February 11th-13th.
The respective workshops focused on the Peace Building unit of the SELL Programme. Volunteer facilitators took participants through sessions which invited them to choose to be peacemakers in all of life’s situations.
In Tuna, the youth were drawn from Kalba, Kulmasa, Konfali, Pinvuro, Yipala, Soma and Tuna communities.

​Participants shared that, the workshops offered them helpful ways of knowing how to manage their anger and conflict for their own growth and well-being. Others also said, the forgiveness stories of the widely praised Nelson Mandela and Malala Yousafzai touched them and will inspire their personal decisions to let go of resentment and thoughts of revenge when offended.
In Busunu, thirty-nine (39) young people participated, including fifteen (15) Muslims and thirty-one (31) in Tuna with four (4) Muslims.

​Commissioned volunteers of Tamale and Navrongo-Bolgatanga zones met together in Tamale.
The joint Zonal Meeting took place at the Youth Centre, Feb. 18-20, and brought together representatives of all cluster teams in the two zones.
The purpose of the meeting was to review their activities in the past year and to plan anew for 2022. The meeting also discussed challenges they face in their respective teams where some solutions were suggested to enable them work effectively.
It was an opportunity to reconnect with colleagues as a family and draw inspiration from one another.
The commissioned are SELL’s volunteers who have completed all six units of the Programme. As extended members of the SELL Resource Team, the support of commissioned volunteers is crucial in helping the Team reach out to many communities in operational zones.
They have put together a series of activities to be undertaken in the months ahead for the benefit of other young people.

​The Sharing Education and Learning for Life (SELL) Programme Ghana conducted its 5th training for volunteer facilitators in the Wa Zone, February 24th to 27th.
It was on the Wisdom of Traditions unit and took place at the Spiritual Renewal Centre in Wanye, Upper West Region.
The penultimate training for the zone brought together trainee volunteers from Nandom, Jirapa, Tumu and Wa communities where they explored various traditions, their wisdom and the way we have been influenced by them. It produced moments of deep reflection and discernment on the calls of the spirit in today’s world.

Having learnt about the effects of industrial revolution, participants shared that, human actions and inactions are responsible for causing harm to the environment and there is the need to change attitudes and intensify education towards care for the earth. Other suggested ways in this effort is to plant and grow trees and cut the use of chemicals in farming.

​As facilitators of the SELL Programme, which puts them in position of leadership, their awareness was raised on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults in line with the Safeguarding Policy of the Programme. They were also made aware of the responsibilities and duties it places on them.

​The six teams in the zone are expected to organize workshops in their respective communities and impart other young people.

​ The Sharing Education and Learning for Life (SELL) Foundation has again trained some selected young people on Countering violent extremism.
The training which was conducted in the Hausa language aimed at empowering the young people with the necessary skills and strategies to prevent and counter-violence in their respective communities and also enable them reach out to Hausa native speakers in their communities.

​The training brought together young people across the Seven States of the North East and Plateau, Nigeria.
Took place at Country Home Hotel, Jos from the 9th -12th February 2022.

Tuesday 8th February, 2022 SELL team paid an Advocacy visit to strategic stakeholders in Shendam of Plateau State.
The visit was in preparation for the multi-sectoral stakeholder's engagements on SELL activities in Shendam and the implementation of the Child Rights Law and Violence against Person's Prohibition Law and other laws that protect the basic rights of people.

​Stakeholders visited include the Local Government chairman represented by his Deputy, Hon. William Titlong, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) CSP Danladi Ringjwal and the Social Welfare Department among others.

​The Sharing Education and Learning for Life Foundation applauded the Social Welfare Department Shendam Branch for their resilience and efforts in ensuring the rights of children and vulnerable in the community are been protected.
The commendation was made during the stakeholder's engagement in Shendam Local Government where issues around child protection and violence against person prohibition policies and other relevant policies were discussed.

​Speaking during the event Mr. John Ramdur Social Welfare Officer stated that after the skills acquired from SELL training on Child Safeguarding and protection, Prevention of Gender Based Violence and Countering Violent Extremism they have discovered that drug abuse is one of the things that foil violence in the society. To avert that, the Social Welfare Department through the support of the Local Government Chairman Mr. Miskoom Alexander Naantuam formulated a policy on drug abuse that will serve as a law for the entire Shendam community.
 
Mr. Gerard Longlat representative of the Chairman Hon. Miskoom Alexander Naantuam said he was amazed when reports were given for the progress made by the Social Welfare Department. He added that it is important to always recognise and encourage such commitment to show others to incorporate social good in their mission.

​CSP Danladi Ringjwal the Divisional Superintendent officer also appreciated both the Social Welfare Department and SELL Foundation for a job well done especially on peace-building. He added that peace-building is a collective effort of individuals in the society, for a community to progress people must come together to fight against all kinds of heinous crimes against humanity. He called on delegates at the engagement to report any suspected crime to the nearby station and not to take laws into their own hands.

​22nd February, 2022 SELL Resource team alongside SELL community volunteers in Jos paid advocacy visits to the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Plateau Peace Practioner Network (PPPN) and Coalition of Civil Society Organisation in their respective offices in Jos, Plateau State.

​The purpose is to seek possible areas of collaboration and to also intimate them on the upcoming stakeholder's engagement where issues around Child Protection and Violence against Persons Prohibition policies will be discussed and possibly seek the way forward.
Barrister Obioma Ngozi Achilefu, chairperson of the International Federation of Women Lawyers applauded SELL Foundation for its efforts in ensuring the rights of children and vulnerable in the society are being protected.
She added that the menace around child protection and gender-based violence is not one that a single organisation can tackle, but all hands must come on deck to ensure the safety of children and their education in society.
 
Mr. Pwakim Jacob, Chairman Plateau Peace Practioner Network in his remarks, appreciated the SELL team for the visit and the efforts towards peace-building. He added that PPPN has also done so much in the areas of peace and building the capacity of the young people in Jos. He affirmed that peace-building is a process that may take a short or longer period. However, he assured the team of its willingness to partner in achieving the goal.

​Mr. Kingsley Obida representative of the Chairman Coalition of Civil Society Organisation also added that the coalition is made up of different sectors and specializes in different thematic areas. He highlighted that the issues raised by the SELL team are challenges steering us in the face which needs individuals, groups and government agencies to come together in fighting against such challenges faced in the communities. Mr. Obida who played a host on behalf of the chairman at Centre for the Advocacy of Justice and Rights (CAJR) also assured the team of its willingness to partner through advocacy and awareness in building a peaceful community.

​The Sharing Education and Learning for Life Foundation had a three days training review of SELL interventions and its sustainability in the areas of Child protection, Prevention of Gender Based Violence and Peace Building in Jos, Plateau State.
 The review which lasted for the period of three days brought participants from different youth groups, Government agencies and SELL volunteers who have undergone training on the above thematic area.

The highlight of the programme was the stakeholders’ engagement where issues around surrounding child protection and Violence against person’s prohibition policies were discussed and strategizes for the way forward.
 
The engagement had in attendance stakeholders from International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Nigeria Association of Women Lawyers (NAWOJ), Nigerian Union of Journalist (NUJ), Plateau Peace Practioner Network (PPPN), Media Team Network initiative (MTNI), Coalition of Civil Society Organization among others.
 
The training review/engagement took place at Green Valley Suites Jos, Plateau State