By Joseph Kobla Wemakor
Many have nurtured the dream, barely few have taken the step to make it work, but she is already making it happen.

The gem with the magic wand at hand is the next kid on the block using her influence, knowledge, skills, connection or whatever she owns to help empower, educate and inform many Ghanaian children of the adolescent ages to make informed choices so as to guarantee a brighter future ahead of them.

Mercy Catherine Adjabeng (Mrs.) is a woman whose immense contribution towards shaping dreams, transforming lives and empowering adolescents to reach their full potential in life is already yielding positive feedback.

Among the list of people doing amazing things in Ghana today in diverse ways who are determined to bring about the change we deserve, Mercy stood tall among all with passion and dedication to social work doing the magic.

Like an architect with a master plan who visualizes the good end of things from the very beginning, Mercy set out to help the Ghanaian adolescent children realize their dreams, aspirations and potentials with the swift introduction of two powerful educational tools; the Discovery Teen Magazine and the Discovery Teen Chat.

The Discovery Teen Magazine is a publication which focuses on informing, educating and empowering adolescents by highlighting the issues they face in their transition from childhood to adulthood.  Rated as the only Teen magazine with a column solely dedicated to parental education is inspired by the words of the Good Book with balanced, researched information to educate and guide adolescents make informed decisions.

Unlike the Discovery Teen Magazine, the Discovery Teen Chat is an educational forum where the adolescents interact with experts, share ideas, ask questions on various topics they have been exposed to both within or outside the forum where answers are adequately provided to help them obtain guidance and the privilege to make right decisions.

The combination of these two powerful educational tools which is the brainchild of Mrs. Catherine Adjabeng are intended to bring effectiveness towards achievement of purpose.

Since its introduction in 2015, the initiatives have brought about positive feedback and keep making inroads among many adolescents and their parents who are the beneficiaries in the country. This was through the ingenuity of Mrs. Mercy Catherine Adjabeng, the sole initiator who equally doubles as the Editor-In-Chief of the Discovery Teen Magazine

As the saying goes: “behind every successful invention, there’s always a source of motivation which drives the agenda”. So what at all could be the driving force behind these noble initiatives being championed by our heroine?

When this question was posed, Mrs. Adjabeng quickly responded:  “First of all, I’m proud to be a Ghanaian Growing up, I’ve had a lot of guidance and support to go through the adolescent stage. I’m also a mother, I have adolescent children. I have seen them, watched them grow. I have been a teacher before, I’ve dealt with adolescents and so all these things put together make me feel compelled that whatever I have received from society, whatever I see and where I set the hat that I wear, I see a lot of things that ought to change. I interacted with a lot of parents, some of them who are helpless. I deal with adolescents, some of them who find themselves in some situations because they didn’t have some information and guidance”.

Citing an incident she narrated: “Last December we went to a juvenile prison to do a presentation to the children there. They were children between 12 to 19 years who were already in prison. And these are people who have been tried and convicted and so many of them out there”.

She concluded that: “we can avoid all these things if we simply guide them and so the best way to get something done is to do it yourself, set an example and call for people to follow”. “So that’s the purpose, that’s the passion that pushes me to do what I’m doing”.

Since the launch of the initiative in March 2021, the Discovery Teen Chat enjoyed a massive forum which witnessed many adolescents in attendance where various topics were treated by many experts who guided, engaged, enlightened and empowered them on how they can deal with issues confronting them including the need to make the right choices.

At the 2nd edition of similar event which took place at the plush auditorium of the Victory Bible Church-Dominion Sanctuary at Awoshie Barn Yard in Accra, the beneficiaries outnumbering hundred were exposed to educative topics such as: Developing yourself through education & character building, Child Abuse & Violence; Identifying & preventing abuse and violence, Impact of Covid-19 on Adolescents, Adolescents, dating sex and drugs, Impact of Social Media on Adolescents, Adolescents’ Mental Health – Pressure, Stress and Suicide and Why should I Save?.

Speaking on the topic: “Developing yourself through education & character building”, a renowned journalist who doubles as the Public Relations Manager, State Interests & Governance Authority (SIGA), Stephen Anti urges the participants to pursue their education with passion and embrace their values through constant application of christian principles which exudes the character of Christ

In an interview with journalists, Mrs. Mercy Catherine Adjabeng appealed to government, corporate organizations, institutions, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and well-meaning Ghanaians to partner and support her outfit with resource personnel and financial aid to continue the good work for the betterment of children in the country.

She lauded the Victory Bible Church (Dominion Sanctuary, Awoshie Barn Yard) for offering her outfit free facility to stage the Discovery Teen Chat forum including UNFPA Ghana, French Embassy and GOLDKEY Properties for the publishing of the Magazine.

Mrs. Adjabeng called on all parents and guardians who expressed interest in having their children partake in the Discovery Teen Chat not to hesitate to visit the Discovery Teen Magazine on Facebook and Instagram page, look out for her contact number and reach out to her with a text message to have them enrolled under the program.