I participated in this event because Chocolate Friendship Day has always been an inspiration to me. It is a great school event for showing your friends how much you care about them. I was on the labelling and the party by the pool planning committee. Throughout the process, I identified several strengths of mine. These include resilience, creativity, and patience. It was occasionally challenging to stay committed to the requirements associated with the creative process. For instance, labelling the different chocolate orders or printing out the list of finances. I was especially challenged during the Heartbeat Dance preparation day. Thankfully, I learned that working with others and asking for help is key. Also, believe in yourself as well. I was appointed head of the decor by Mama Su at the last minute and had to allocate a lot of energy to making sure the sports complex would look beautiful by recruiting some of my colleagues to help. There were many times when I wanted to give up, particularly when I had to continuously walk by myself back and forth from the hostel to the sports complex for supplies. But I persisted and tried my best to finish the task. At every point in time, I attempted to utilize my skills and collaborate with others to assist me in the process. The goal of Chocolate Friendship Day was to raise money for children with cleft lips who need surgery. I was determined to play a role in this because I find it very important to help these children. I recognized and considered the ethics of my choices because I knew that they would affect not only me but everyone involved. An unforgettable moment was watching some of my colleagues drop balloons into the pool unintentionally. Advice for those in charge of the next annual chocolate friendship week is to take everything seriously and have fun. Malyka Owusu (Grade 11)

I wanted to make sure everyone got their chocolate, so I joined the finance committee. I guess I got a bit of experience in accounting, which I did pretty well in. Handling, communicating, and cooperating with the people I was in charge of proved difficult, and although many were cooperative, I still needed to clarify some instructions to others and people above my chain of command. I mostly ensured that the orders matched up with the money given. I mostly just remained consistent and present for my duties. I collaborated with others to help set up for the party by the pool. I was very concerned about fair trade. I just made sure people were at least aware of it and the nature of modern slavery. The only ethical consideration I have when handling money is making sure the math works out and returns the surplus. My favorite moment was learning about my grade’s accomplishments. The next chocolate friendship Week organizers should prepare scripts because people like you will interrupt you in the middle of your presentation if you pause even a moment. Anthony Mayilamene (Grade 11)

I decided to participate in this event because it has been going on for a while, and I wanted to be a part of it to experience it. I was part of the Financial Committee. I discovered, among other things, that I can effectively organize myself because it required a lot of calculations. I faced challenges when it came to tallying. I was easily confused and had to start over. It taught me the value of paying attention to small details to avoid making costly mistakes. I was not a leader, so I did not take part in many of the initiatives, but I did help in the planning process to ensure everything turned out as planned. I sacrificed a lot of my free time to get people’s orders and count the money I made. It helped me improve my self-management skills, which I have struggled with a lot recently. I worked with one of my close friends, so I enjoyed doing this job, and we were both able to come up with effective ideas to get the task done. One global issue is the inflation rate currently happening in Ghana. Therefore, we looked for ways to establish reasonable prices so that people would not have to spend lots of money on their purchases. An unforgettable moment for me during this experience was when we gathered in the MPH to tally the chocolate people bought. We looked at who bought what and were happy about their show of love. Keep calm, be patient, and trust the process if you happen to lead the next annual chocolate friendship week. Maadjoa Kakra Obeng -Nkansah (Grade 11)

I joined the party by the pool committee because I wanted to help with planning and preparations for the event. I faced challenges with organizing and getting the place ready for the event. I was committed to making sure there were sufficient chairs and tables available at the venue. I recognized the benefits of working collaboratively when we were decorating the place. I was concerned with the juniors’ equal participation in the event and their enjoyment of it. Partying with everyone and having fun was my best moment. For the next annual chocolate friendship week, planners should do their best and not worry. They should just work together, and everything will fall into place. Dilei Kanneh (Grade 11) 

I participated in this event to show my support for kids with cleft lip and cleft palate and to share in the joy of receiving chocolate from friends. I was the head of the design committee, along with my partner Tiffany. I also played parts in the party by the pool committee, packaging, and labelling. The entire process gave me insight into how small local businesses operate. The process aided in time management and meticulousness. I feel like the highest challenge throughout the whole event was the constant attention needed.  Everything needed critical attention at all times to reduce minimal errors as a result of the problems they could cause if not done correctly. I can confidently say CFD played a big part in rounding out my time management skills since I had to balance my academics and dedicate enough time to my objective tasks. My partner and I decided to take the initiative to see how the gorgeous poster about the price and the chocolate that would be sold throughout the process was designed. Throughout the CFW, I was very committed and showed high levels of perseverance. I showed this through my effort in the labelling committee, packaging and the party by the pool. The point at which my collaborative skills were most useful was during packaging. This moment was very hectic; hence, I needed to work closely with my colleagues to make it easier. There were so many exciting moments throughout the week, but I think my favorite part of it all was the live band playing their wonderful songs. My advice to the next leaders of CFD is tally the chocolates well. Kwadwo Adubofour (Grade 11)

 I joined the event to help raise funds for children with cleft lip and cleft palate. I joined the party by the pool committee. Through this experience, I have developed an attitude of perseverance. Even though I was held back by my academics, I stayed to help with the committee I chose. I’ve learned to be more organized when overwhelmed with lots of responsibilities and plans. I was challenged by the demands of the tasks I had to undertake, and through this, I learned how to improve my organizational skills. I had to ensure that the MPH was ready for church as the MPH executive and be ready in time to get to my stand for the party by the pool, so I needed to develop good organization and communication skills to ensure I got this stuff done. In getting the names of those who ordered, I had to work with my partner to be able to record them accurately. I also discovered this through working collaboratively with my “Lucky Dip” partner, where we had to stand in place of each other when the other could not make it. I had to keep the initiative’s goal in mind as I collected funds from sales and the lucky dip so that I could give Operation Smile an accurate sum of money. In preparation for the event, a lot of work went into the party by the pool. This experience of working together towards a common goal was an unforgettable one for me. To the organizers of the following year’s Chocolate Friendship Week, come up with better ideas to make this event continue to improve. Make sure you are committed from the start if you want to see this event yield. Odasey Tetteh (Grade 11)

I joined the event committees to gain knowledge and skills I would not have in my day-to- day role. I want to learn from my classmates, hear different points of view, and broaden my knowledge. I was a part of the Party by the Pool Committee and Labelling Committee. It helped me feel more confident about my ability to plan and organize events, which I already knew to be a strength. Along with two of my grade mates, I wrote “happy chocolate friendship day” on the chalkboard. The planning and preparations were stressful but not impossible. Planning and preparation for eight weeks paid off. I had to commit to attending meetings while continuing to balance my academic work. In the latter part and as the event got closer, I showed abilities and understood the advantages of working in a team. My choices and actions were based on my core character values like trustworthiness, respect, responsibility and fairness. It gave the majority of the journey a solid foundation and made it simpler and more productive overall. My best moment was when the committees posed for photos while sitting in front of the scenery. Expressing your ideas is the best thing you can do during this process; time management and self-control should also be your best friend. That’s the piece of advice I have for whoever organizes the upcoming annual Chocolate Friendship Week. Claire-Elise Addo (Grade 11)

I joined this event because I have experienced it before, and I wanted to be part of the team that would create the unique excitement I felt at opening my gift bag for others. I was part of the chocolate decision-making and finance committee. I realized throughout the planning of this event that I have an inkling for keeping things organized and for working collaboratively for the success of an event. I think an area for personal growth I realized throughout the process is self-motivation. Although I was actively able to help with the preparation, I needed a push to fight the urge to sleep after school instead of heading to the CAS office. It made me realize the need to improve on self-motivation. I think this event did challenge me a lot. I needed quite an amount of motivation to actively participate in what I needed to and go the extra mile of lending a helping hand to the committees I wasn’t part of; I think this helped me to develop my willingness, which is an essential factor in acts of service. In the chocolate decision-making committee, I and my other committee members played the essential role of deciding the chocolates and prices for this event. I believe the planning and preparations throughout this CAS experience were phenomenal, as we were able to plan it in such a way that the students had enough time to pay and we could finish packaging early and not take up our supervisors’ whole night. We were called several times after school, when I should have been sleeping, to take part in this activity. Although I dreaded it, I knew I wanted to impact the students because I knew it was for a good cause. I think one moment where I demonstrated collaboration skills was during the packaging. Everyone who came to assist was able to work together to efficiently package the students’ gift bags and arrange the chocolate by their names. Because of this, we finished packaging way earlier than expected, which was a huge benefit. The main issue this event helped to address was cleft lip, and through our service, we raised enough money to pay for the cleft lip surgery of one child in our local community. I knew that simply taking one chocolate or candy for myself may not have seemed as bad at the moment, but knowing that stealing was not only wrong but that the chocolates helped raise money for children who were heavily stigmatized helped to affirm my decisions and actions. An unforgettable moment was waking up at 1 a.m. to go to the CAS office and get the gift bags to share with the students. Planning and organization are essential to the success of every event, so the team in charge of the next CFD should keep this in mind. Dzidzor Mac-Deh (Grade 11)

I participated in this event because I wanted to be a part of the committee whose main goals were to make someone smile during the love season. Therefore, I decided to be a part of the finance committee and be responsible for all funds necessary for the cause. I realized that my good collaboration skills helped me to work with my fellow finance committee members. I faced a lot of pressure, especially during the special items sales period when I had to work in very distracting and noisy conditions. But I was able to handle the pressure, improving my self-awareness. I was fully committed to ensuring that everything in finance was perfect, with no untied knots. I realized how collaborative I was when tallying the chocolates with the price people paid. I was able to collaborate effectively and successfully with my partner. As a leader in the finance department, ethics were undoubtedly important. Confidentiality was very important, especially when dealing with special items. And I believe this was very necessary for the success of CFD. One uncomfortable moment for me was when I had to stay in a hot room to make sure that orders were sorted and tallied with the right people. To the leaders of the next annual chocolate friendship week, start early and communicate more. Bradley Hoedoafia (Grade 11) 

I initially joined this event because I wanted to be a part of one of TIS’ most beautiful traditions. I was a member of the packaging committee, the special items committee, and the party by the pool committee. This experience allowed me to strengthen my collaboration and communication skills when working alongside others to achieve a common goal. Staying consistent with to-do lists was very challenging. As a DP student, there’s always work to be done. Balancing my work with these activities was a skill I got the opportunity to sharpen, and I’m grateful for that. There were times when I wanted to give up during the planning and sales process because there was so much to do and it eventually became overwhelming. However, I was able to effectively manage my time and persevere to the very end of it all. On the day of the party by the pool, there was a lot of work to be done. I spent my whole day at the sports complex working on decorations and setting up for the event. I was extremely disorganized initially, but at the end of the day, I realized that everything wouldn’t have worked out completely if I hadn’t collaborated with others. The main aim of this year’s Chocolate Friendship event was to raise money to pay for the surgeries of individuals with cleft lip and cleft palate. Although we needed students, staff and the TIS community to make purchases so we could gain more money, we needed to make sure that their money would not go to waste and that their purchases would be valid. An unforgettable moment was the night we packaged all the items. I felt revitalized by the time I got to spend with my teammates in the design lab. It won’t be simple, but the next CFD leaders should persevere because it will be worthwhile. Nanette Ativor (Grade 11)