Trainees of No Business as Usual Youth Empowerment Center (NBU-YEC) project who are gearing into the entrepreneurship world have been challenged to practice self-care in their respective areas of business.
As a way of helping them embrace the above-mentioned, they were enlightened on Thursday, 19th September, 2024 on activities and behaviours related to self-care that will contribute positively to their physical and mental health.
This happened at the time an NBU-YEC training program, dubbed “CAREER DAY 5.0” was in session.
It was an event which aimed at educating participants on the need to prioritize their mental health in developing and sustaining their businesses.
Dr. Samuel Tinagyei , a Mental Health Therapist said in his presentation at the event, that a number of business owners are so much consumed by the affairs of their business, insofar they offer less time and attention to the state of their health.
He said “your focus should not always be on your business. You must have time for yourself as well. As you make more profit as an entrepreneur, you must also enjoy the fruits of your labour by engaging in activities that will nourish your health”.
“Invest in yourself as you invest in your business”, he added.
Still in his presentation, he mentioned that aside reduced stress, increased productivity, improved creativity and clarity, self-care gives entrepreneurs a better mental health for productivity.
He noted that, self-care is crucial to the success of the business of entrepreneurs because if they are in a better state of health, they will be in a better position to manage their business.
Mrs. Dorcas Owusu Frimpong, a clinical Physiologist at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital also underscored in her presentation at the event that having a good mental health, positions entrepreneurs in a good mental state to plan well for the growth of their business.
Educating the trainees on mental health, she underlined stress as one of the major causes of mental illness.
She schooled them on the stages of mental illness, early symptoms, factors that causes stress among others.
Addressing the media, NBU-YEC Trainer, Abdul Manaf Suraj said officials of the project saw the need to enlighten trainees on mental health because if they are not equipped with the knowledge, they might easily give up.
“Running a businesses is not an easy task. It comes with a lot of stress and so we organised this training to help them understand mental health issues, how to address them and also support others who are suffering a form of mental illness”.
Abdul Manaf Suraj said the status-quo demands more awareness creation owing to the fact that a great number of entrepreneurs are not much concerned about their mental health.
ABOUT NBU-YEC
The project is sponsored by the SOS Children’s Villages in the Netherlands.
Officials are targeting 400 vulnerable young people in the Ashanti Region to receive free soft and hard skills training, as well as business development support, to make them self-reliant and productive members of their communities.
