Develop Africa hosted its first face-to-face annual Girls Leadership Mentoring Workshop / Conference for its leadership mentees in February 2013. The conference took place at the Hill Valley Hotel Conference room in Freetown, Sierra Leone. There was a total of sixteen (16) conference attendees consisting of 9 leadership mentees, 3 Develop Africa Coordinators, 3 mentors and trainers and a guest from the United States. The conference presenters and mentors included presenters:  Dr. Gladys Palmer, Ms. Adeyinka Wyse and Ms. Melody Davis.
   
Dr. Gladys Palmer facilitated the morning session one “Leadership and Anger Management.” The session was psycho-educational in nature. It entailed self-evaluation and group work on the issue of anger management.   The session was designed to encourage participants to own their feelings and recognize the physical cues of anger in order to effectively manage it. The session lasted for two hours including a question & answer time. The mode of training in session one was hands-on, informal group sharing, collaboration and group work. Dr. Gladys is the Director of Nuwach Outpatient Services and Founder of Nuwach Ministries Inc. In 2007-2009, Dr. Palmer served as Mentor and Regional Director of the International Institute of Mentoring - Cleveland, Tennessee. She currently offers mental health services alongside her husband, at their private clinic located in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
 
   

The afternoon session, “Empowered to Lead”, was led by Ms. Melody Davis and Adeyinka Wyse from the United States. This session was designed to put the leadership mentees in control of educating and empowering themselves to lead and take action on key issues that affect their lives. The mode of training included group work and individual activities. A collaborative approach was also utilized in this session. The session presenter Mrs. Melody Davis is a certified corporate trainer, self-employed as a Realtor and currently the Lead Pastor of the Olivet Pentecostal Church of Love in Galena, MD, USA. The second presenter Ms. Adeyinka Wyse is a Senior Consultant with CMF Associates, Inc. a consulting company to mid-market private equity firms. Ms. Wyse has a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of North Florida with a wealth of experience in Financial Analysis & Planning, Project Management and Information Technology. The conference had two break-out times at 10:30 am (Tea Break) and at 12 noon (a Lunch Buffet).  
   

During the break-out times, the mentees, mentors, trainers and facilitators had a great opportunity to network, interact and connect on a personal level. The conference was reported to be very informative, educational and inspiring. Here are some of the comments from the leadership mentees regarding the conference and workshop:
  
“Wow, the conference was superb.  The facilitators were awesome. We learnt a lot.  May God bless you Jasmine for giving us this opportunity to meet with such an inspiring personalities. Love you all plenty.” ~ Isatu K.
  
“I really have enjoyed the conference. Thanks very much Jasmine for your relentless effort.” ~ Dorhen S.
  

“The conference was awesome, inspiring, awaking and wonderful. I felt empowered. Thanks Adeyinka, Melody and Gladys. Thanks to Develop Africa and Jasmine, it was powerful.” ~  Hannah S.
  
“I'm so thrilled! Could have sat there and just enjoy learning new things, but all the same, it's ended. It was awesome! What a wonderful thing to learn so much and still want to continue learning.” ~ Gracie G.
  
“The conference has ended. It was educating and we all had a fabulous time today. Thank you for the opportunity. Loads of love.” ~  Angela L.    
  
Develop Africa wishes to thank all sponsors and friends for your continuous support and for your  tireless investment into the inaugural group of leadership mentees. We are truly appreciative.  Thank you donors, friends and supporters for making this happen.