June 16, 2019
There’s pursuing a career and there’s pursuing a career while preparing for the arrival of your child. Whether a mom-to-be or a dad-to-be, parenting is a full-time job on its own, and for working parents, it can be quite a task working and caring for a newborn simultaneously.
With newborns on their hands, parents need all the support they can get. Understanding that parenting transcends gender, Ashesi offers an opportunity for not only mothers but for fathers as well to take time off work to care for their infants. The policy also stands for employees who consider adoption or take up the guardianship of a minor.
For father of three and Academic Advisor Emmanuel Ntow, receiving support from the university has made him more confident in his journey as a dad.
“After having my first two kids while at Ashesi, I felt rest-assured when I learned my wife was pregnant with our third,” he shared. “I wasn’t too worried about all the things that could possibly go wrong knowing that Ashesi’s health insurance policy will cover the total cost of my child’s delivery. And being able to take time off, or work from home as and when I needed to, has really helped me to be more present at home with my family. So it’s been pretty exciting.”
Other support offered by the university include a health insurance policy that covers employees’ and their families, a dedicated facility for nursing mothers to express milk for their newborns, and special buses giving parents access on and off campus at various points during the day. In addition, the Natambi Health Center located on the university campus also offers early childhood health advice for parents who request for it.
“We do everything we can to help put employees’ minds at ease,” shared Aba Kaadzie, Human Resource Director at Ashesi. “And for those who have just become parents, there’s already a lot on their plate during this period, so we try not to add on any more stress. We trust our employees. We know they work very hard. So we try to give them space and the support they need to take care of themselves and their families.”
In some cases, Ashesi works with parents to tailor a working solution that will best support them on their journey. Sharing her experience as a first-time mother of twin boys, Engineering Lecturer, Elena Rosca expresses how Ashesi gave her the room she needed to find her feet as a working mom. “I thought I was prepared to handle twins but it turned out that I wasn’t even close,” shared Elena. “Having the responsibility of caring for two little lives at once was a bit overwhelming, but we are getting better at managing it. And Ashesi has helped a lot with that; they gave me a lighter teaching schedule to enable me to transition better, and I got the opportunity of working remotely on some days.”
However, Ashesi’s support for parents is not limited to expecting parents and those whose kids are infants. Employees whose wards are of college-going age get a 90% tuition waiver if their wards choose to apply to the university and are admitted.
For Casper Annie, Facilities Director at Ashesi, not only is he helping create and maintain a beautiful campus, but his daughter gets to experience the legacy that he, along with other staff and faculty have built for younger generations.
“When I first joined Ashesi, sometime in 2003, my first conversation with Patrick was around building a world-class institution that our children would find worth attending someday. Seeing my daughter come here, means that what we started and continue to see grow, has borne fruit. I am happy about the fact that our children can be a part of a transformative Ghana, Africa, and the world.”
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