The YLMP was started in 2009 with the aim of nurturing young leaders to develop themselves and their communities. The program builds a continuous understudy system where people who have gained lessons and experience in specific fields, share their acquired knowledge with others. YLMP is a two tier mentorship program, which involves Senior High School students (mentees) being mentored by tertiary students (junior mentors). The junior mentors are also mentored by young professionals (senior mentors) for a year. The YLMP impacts young people in several ways, some of which are as follows:
- Community service. The Program encourages participants to be more proactive in their environments and to develop the habit of volunteering and solving pressing problems in their schools and communities.
- Personal development. Through the program, about 300 junior mentors (university students) and over 400 Senior High School students from Accra and Kumasi have been mentored. These students are now a community of young people who are self-aware, socially apt and confident. Students on the YLMP program benefit from seminars that cover various subjects of interest and key life lessons.
- Academic and career development. The YLMP creates the platform for mentors to support mentees in their academic work, provide study materials and in some cases extra tuition. Junior mentors on the program have the opportunity to benefit from career guidance given by their senior mentors (young professionals). The YLMP program also awards a full 4-year scholarship to students on the program who gain admission into tertiary institutions, but are unable to afford school fees.
- Leadership. Participants of the YLMP are challenged throughout the program to be agents of change and inspired to go into active, and accountable student leadership. Twelve students from Accra and Kumasi, in 2015, were called into various leadership positions in their respective schools. The 2016 cohort also produced 16 student leaders, including the girls’ prefect of Kinbu Senior High School and boys’ prefect of Holy Trinity Catholic Senior High School.