Digital Diary: Berenice's Story from Ghana - Part 2

Berenice Akuamoah used a mini-disc recorder and microphone to document her life in a six-part series for UNICEF Radio and Voices of Youth. Berenice is a very unusual 18-year-old young woman who hopes to become a lawyer, a sociologist, a political scientist and a journalist. "As you can see," she says, "I am a young woman with many aspirations for my life." Berenice lives in a middle class neighbourhood in the capital city of Accra with her mother and brother. Her older brother died suddenly last year of hepatitis. Berenice's mother runs her own business, and places her children's education above all other priorities. Berenice has been a member of Curious Minds, a youth radio and advocacy programme in Ghana, for several years, and attributes much of her current self-confidence to her experiences in the programme. Her assuredness comes across in her digital diary in which she speaks her mind and asserts her opinions freely. She also feels comfortable with a microphone, interviewing her friends and others with ease and humour. As she states in her diary, Berenice believes young people should take on more responsibility for their community, and she works to improve hers in many ways. She also thinks that adults in Ghana must learn to take young people and their ideas more seriously. "Young people are an investment in the future," she says. "Many adults see us as undisciplined a problem. But we are good people who can help." Her concern about issues of poverty, child labour, regional violence, and gender discrimination comes through clearly as she takes us on a journey through the intimate workings of her day: to the local market, to the offices of Curious Minds, and eventually to her first weeks at the University of Ghana in Accra. Berenice lets her listeners in on her hopes and dreams, and just what life is like for a teenage girl in her culture. Each step of the way we hear her unique take on the world around her and are able to envision her life. In some ways, Berenice's world and her view of it are very unusual, but in other ways she's very much like any girl, from any country.

Berenice Akuamoah used a mini-disc recorder and microphone to document her life in a six-part series for UNICEF Radio and Voices of Youth. Berenice is a very unusual 18-year-old young woman who hopes to become a lawyer, a sociologist, a political scientist and a journalist. "As you can see," she says, "I am a young woman with many aspirations for my life." Berenice lives in a middle class neighbourhood in the capital city of Accra with her mother and brother. Her older brother died suddenly last year of hepatitis. Berenice's mother runs her own business, and places her children's education above all other priorities. Berenice has been a member of Curious Minds, a youth radio and advocacy programme in Ghana, for several years, and attributes much of her current self-confidence to her experiences in the programme. Her assuredness comes across in her digital diary in which she speaks her mind and asserts her opinions freely. She also feels comfortable with a microphone, interviewing her friends and others with ease and humour. As she states in her diary, Berenice believes young people should take on more responsibility for their community, and she works to improve hers in many ways. She also thinks that adults in Ghana must learn to take young people and their ideas more seriously. "Young people are an investment in the future," she says. "Many adults see us as undisciplined a problem. But we are good people who can help." Her concern about issues of poverty, child labour, regional violence, and gender discrimination comes through clearly as she takes us on a journey through the intimate workings of her day: to the local market, to the offices of Curious Minds, and eventually to her first weeks at the University of Ghana in Accra. Berenice lets her listeners in on her hopes and dreams, and just what life is like for a teenage girl in her culture. Each step of the way we hear her unique take on the world around her and are able to envision her life. In some ways, Berenice's world and her view of it are very unusual, but in other ways she's very much like any girl, from any country.

Berenice Akuamoah used a mini-disc recorder and microphone to document her life in a six-part series for UNICEF Radio and Voices of Youth. Berenice is a very unusual 18-year-old young woman who hopes to become a lawyer, a sociologist, a political scientist and a journalist. "As you can see," she says, "I am a young woman with many aspirations for my life." Berenice lives in a middle class neighbourhood in the capital city of Accra with her mother and brother. Her older brother died suddenly last year of hepatitis. Berenice's mother runs her own business, and places her children's education above all other priorities. Berenice has been a member of Curious Minds, a youth radio and advocacy programme in Ghana, for several years, and attributes much of her current self-confidence to her experiences in the programme. Her assuredness comes across in her digital diary in which she speaks her mind and asserts her opinions freely. She also feels comfortable with a microphone, interviewing her friends and others with ease and humour. As she states in her diary, Berenice believes young people should take on more responsibility for their community, and she works to improve hers in many ways. She also thinks that adults in Ghana must learn to take young people and their ideas more seriously. "Young people are an investment in the future," she says. "Many adults see us as undisciplined a problem. But we are good people who can help." Her concern about issues of poverty, child labour, regional violence, and gender discrimination comes through clearly as she takes us on a journey through the intimate workings of her day: to the local market, to the offices of Curious Minds, and eventually to her first weeks at the University of Ghana in Accra. Berenice lets her listeners in on her hopes and dreams, and just what life is like for a teenage girl in her culture. Each step of the way we hear her unique take on the world around her and are able to envision her life. In some ways, Berenice's world and her view of it are very unusual, but in other ways she's very much like any girl, from any country.