Mac Sarbah, a graduate of Harvard, Columbia and Cambridge Universities, who studied under very dire conditions in rural Ghana as a young student, has a launched a social company called EDAcme (https://edacme.org) to give back to needy children in society.
Mac studied with kerosene lanterns at Yeji in rural Ghana, walking several miles every day to attend a school that did not even have enough classrooms, teachers as well learning and teaching materials. (https://tinyurl.com/y4ykdgtt.)
Back home, Mac did not have access to potable water and electricity, but he was driven by the only value his father left him with, raw passion for knowledge and that is what got him to the top.
Mac also had to ride on counselling from his teachers, professors and even class and school mates to keep braving the storm and scaling to obstacles to reach where he is today.
He has therefore sworn to prevent other young people in rural Africa from going through what he went through. That is why he launched EdAcme to provide a support system to help such children, especially in Africa, realize their potential in education, entrepreneurship, and in their careers.
Speaking about what motivated him to launch the company, Mac Sarbah said, “I am one of many kids from rural Ghana and Africa, who studied with kerosene lanterns, walked miles and faced many odds, but because of the support I received from God, teachers and professors, class and school mates, coworkers and managers, family and friends, I found myself at Legon, Columbia, Cambridge, and Harvard.”
He noted that many other kids, from similar backgrounds, have been successful, because of effective support systems, and he intends to create one for such kids.
“My journey has taken me to about 24 countries on 4 continents. Along the journey, I have met many young people who have gone wayward. Many bemoaned the support system they lacked. This is why I set up https://edacme.org,” he said.
The company’s https://edacme.org support system for African youth is even more important now that Africa is projected to have over a billion young people under the age of 25 years by 2050.
Experts fear a time bomb, describing it as a looming major humanitarian crisis, because of massive youth unemployment, as governments in Africa struggle to provide jobs for young people. There are fears of violence, and exacerbated mass migrations across the Mediterranean and the West for greener pastures.
But Mac Sarbah’s EdAcme, may just be the window for many youth to escape a life of despair.
Here is how Mac himself told the story of how he rose from obscurity to the highly educated social entrepreneur he is today.
Hello! Welcome! I’m Mac Sarbah, Founder and CEO of EdAcme. You know, at a young age, I was passionate about education. It’s a passion that my late father instilled in me. It’s this passion which brought me from humble beginnings in rural Ghana to Columbia, Cambridge, and Harvard Universities.
I did my first twelve years of school in Yeji, a rural town in Ghana. There was no electricity. There was no running water. Despite the obstacles, it’s this passion which inspired me to work hard, studying with kerosene lanterns in rural Ghana to Legon, Columbia, Cambridge and Harvard Universities.
After elementary school, I went to an obscure senior high school in rural Ghana. We walked several miles to school every day. We didn’t have teachers. We didn’t have enough classrooms. We didn’t have enough books. It’s this passion which inspired me to emerge as one of a few among my cohort to pass the high school exams. It was, mostly, because of the dedication, support and mentorship of the few teachers, classmates, friends, and family.
Along the journey, I have failed many times. I have been victorious many times. In both failure and victory, I have learned great lessons: lessons which have given me the passion to serve young people, to help them overcome their education challenges, to help them achieve more, to help them fail less. This is what I have been doing for the past ten years. And it’s the very reason that EdAcme was born: to help young people achieve their biggest goals, to help them maximize their potential, to help them be the best they can be.
Along the journey, I have benefited from good mentorship and support from teachers, classmates, friends, school administrators, and family. This is why EdAcme is here to give back and to serve. This is why I have assembled like-minded group of advisors, from the world’s best institutions and organizations, who are passionate and committed to helping young people maximize their education, entrepreneurship and career potential. We do this by providing students and young professionals access to exclusive resources and opportunities to help them accelerate their accomplishments.Â
