this is why I've been a little silent

Dear you,

I know I’ve been a little bit more silent than usual, and you deserve an explanation. You know how I always talk about storytelling with numbers and words? Well, my team and I put together a report on the work we have been doing in Ingressive for Good. You can read the report here -?https://bit.ly/I4G-ImpactReport2022

It’s like a magazine, report, and storybook all merged into one. You will love it.

These were my three favourite things about the report.

Number 3 is my favourite by the way.

1. In graphs, growth looks linear, but it really isn't in real life. It may not make sense when you look at life in terms of days, but the dots connect when you look at life in years. Those little actions we take every single day eventually add up. In less than three years of existence, we (Ingressive For Good) have received 364.4K applications, given 170.1K scholarships, and trained 132.4K African youths in tech! It's soooo impressive.

2.?In thinking about gender equity, don't be performative. Don't just do things to play to the gallery or check boxes of public opinion (especially on March 8th - IWD). Instead, take actions that truly move the needle. Make one woman's life better. I am so excited about the interesting ways we (Ingressive For Good?- I4G) have contributed to empowering more women and bringing more women into tech. I love that female applications have grown by 136%, and most of our graduates in 2022 were women. We were told women do not apply for opportunities, but after over two years of running this nonprofit, I can tell you it's not true. If women feel seen, cared for, and spoken to, they will apply. Create and build opportunities/environments for women to thrive, help them see the value + possibilities, and they will apply. We are still working hard towards equity but we are proud of our strides.

3. My favourite thing about this report is that - of the three people who designed this report, two of them were women and beneficiaries of Ingressive for Good programs. They also shared their stories in the report and are currently employed at the organization. The best part was watching Evelyn work on some pages and see how much she has grown. She found Ingressive for Good at a time in her life when she had to work on a farm from 7 am to 7 pm and earn less than $30 monthly. It was not an ideal situation, but she didn't have options. She met I4G and realized that tech could give her options. Today she is a designer. She was one of the designers of this report, and it made me shed a tear.

In all, not everything we do is evident to the world, and sometimes we have to share the results, but these results are nothing compared to the hours, sleepless nights, days, months, and struggles that you may never get to see because even we may never be able to put them into words. But every second we spent on this project was worth it. So if you would like to support the work of I4G, you can click this link to find out how.

So in summary, this report is why I have been missing, but I am BACK!

I will be sharing posts every day next week, starting on Monday. See you next week ??.

With love,

Blessing Abeng.