Group Chairman of McDan Group of Companies, Dr. Daniel McKorley has encouraged all to endeavour to champion and mentor girls because in mentoring girls, we are investing in their future and the future of the nation.
“It takes just a little time to make a major difference in a young woman’s life,” he said.
He also encouraged student girls to find a female mentor, who would guide them through their social and educational lives.
Dr Daniel McKorley was addressing the 62nd Speech and Prize Giving Day by the Accra Girls Senior High School on Friday, November 5, 2022.
McDan who told a story of himself, urged the students to learn from the story and indicated that “We have been raised as a society, to minimize the impact of girls and maximize the potential of boys but when I look critically at my children I realize that the traits are more unique in the two genders rather than being one above the other. So as we guide our young girls to focus on positive learning attitudes what we must teach them is that you are not lower but rather you are unique and let me take it from my own story.”
He enumerated that as a father of five daughters, each day he watches them evolve, he falls in love with them over and over again, because girls carry in them the natural ability to be curious, to show empathy, to love and to care all at the same time whilst being extremely intelligent.
“As you all know, I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I went through the hardest of times in my life as a young person…But there’s one thing I’ll never forget, which is that, it was my mother who single handedly supported the family when my dad had no job and today it is my wives that are able to combine their businesses and nurture my children to be where they are so far.”
Daniel McKorley also averred that as a business leader and stakeholder, a lot of his work has been channelled towards helping young people especially girls in the area of sport, giving women top key leadership positions in his businesses and most partner companies that he works with are all women.
He charged young girls to remember that it is not about being lower, but it is rather about being “unique, remembering that you are not only going to carry one responsibility, so allow your traits of being an intelligent, multi-tasking, driven, diligent and still being nurturing and empathetic to take you where you want to go.”
“Today, it is not simply STEM, (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) but it is STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) signifying that all in all the next stage is about being able to combine and succeed. Let that natural process be your journey, let it be your guide and let it make you the best that you can be,” he said.
He encouraged the young girl that may be struggling, financially, with self-esteem, with limitations because they think that they are not enough, to let the stories be it for males or females; of people who have struggled but chose integrity be their guide.
“… Let that story remind you that you can be anything, from the highest position of the land being that of a President or the highest honor of the land being a scientist, you can be it all.”
McDan ended his speech with a quote from Malala Yousafzai, sayi g “No struggle can ever succeed without women participating side by side with men. There are two powers in the world; one is the sword and the other is pen. There is a third power stronger than both, that of women,” and wish all students well.
