"I am indeed humbled to see the amount of impact I am making by analyzing data and giving feedback to help the children that need it." - Temitope Yetu Monyeh (M & E Officer, ACE Charity)
For as long as I can remember, I always wanted to make an impact. However, my definition of making an impact was helping the sick by being a doctor or getting justice for the helpless by being a lawyer. Therefore, I was keen on being a doctor. As you can imagine, studying statistics in the university was not a part of my plan, yet somehow this has formed my story and changed my perspective of how I can make an impact.
When I got invited for an interview at ACE Charity, I was asked to analyse data of the children’s performances from one of ACE Charity’s Learning Resource Centers (LRCs), and was blown away by my findings; primary school children were unable to count 1 – 10, and could not pronounce letter sounds correctly. I knew then, that the children needed help and I wanted to be a part of providing that help. Fortunately, I got the job and was assigned to perform assessments for the children in all our LRCs. Working with the children, teaching them and training their teachers on basic numeracy and literacy skills, monitoring their growth, and providing feedback needed to improve the implementation of the project helped me realise that I was making an impact.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we started the ACE Radio School to teach children at home with no access to learning because of the lockdown. As the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, I collect feedback from listeners and have the opportunity to speak directly with children and their parents. The joy I hear in the voices of children or their parents when they call in to appreciate our efforts through the ACE Radio School has been fulfilling. Above all, it has been a period of learning for me as I have had to respond on the spot to children’s questions with regards to assignments they have been given or topics they want to learn.
I am indeed humbled to see the amount of impact I am making by analyzing data and giving feedback to help the children that need it.