Justice Baidoo, an award-winning journalist who doubles as a documentary filmmaker, has disclosed his intention to support girl child education, skills training and employment for young people, through his new foundation named Adubaalɛ.
The Adubaalɛ Foundation is expected to draw learnings and experience from Mr. Baidoo’s 10-year experience as a journalist to build projects and partnerships that would support vulnerable people.
He said his decision was influenced by the quest to assist in providing solution to some of his reports on unemployment and educational crisis that saw no solution or improvement from appropriate authorities.
“When I have done stories on young people complaining about jobs after leaving school, I have asked myself what I can do to help too. When I have reported on schools under trees and gone back many years after to see nothing had changed, I have wondered if I can do something.
I was selected from thousands of people who had applied in a very competitive scheme run by the British Council. To be picked, I said, when I was interviewed, that if I came back, my knowledge and wealth would go to give others especially in Ahanta where I come from- a springboard to stand on,” he said
Mr. Baidoo also noted that his perspectives on journalism and the quality of his work changed in 2015 after he returned from a year-long scholarship to study at Cardiff University, Wales, one of the best journalism schools in the world.
“Since I returned, I have built a stronger bond with people, especially young people- mainly in the Ahanta area. My engagements have supported many in education, jobs and skills building. While I celebrate the little successes, I think it is not enough and I cannot go at it alone,” he said.
Justice Baidoo is the winner of the Global Health Reporting Challenge, organised by the International Center for Journalists, Washington DC, the first winner of the Food Sustainability Media prize organised by the Thomson Reuters Foundation in Milan, Italy and the first winner of the Cocoa Journalism awards in Ghana among others.
The Adubaalɛ Foundation
The Adubaalɛ foundation is named after Mr. Baidoo’s mother, who, like many in her generation, did not finish school and could not train in any skill because she couldn’t get any support and yet has been a firm believer in the power of education to change society, according to Justice.
The Foundation is expected to be active mainly in the western region- the resource-rich part of Ghana where educational attainments have remained low despite the potential for industrial and economic development. The Foundation is also supposed to be the platform for partnerships and to ask for support from within his network to do more.
